


Challenges and losses (and unexpected winnings)

by Alex_stories



Category: The Last of Us (Video Games)
Genre: Ellie is an astronaut, F/F, Multi, NaNoWriMo, Open Relationships, Polyamory, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:34:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 51,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27799312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alex_stories/pseuds/Alex_stories
Summary: AU where there's no cordyceps disease. Ellie and Dina are married and in an open relationship. They are also older (I changed the ages for reasons). Dina has never met Abby. For some reason, Abby and Ellie keep finding each other in the same places and after blowing up some steam, end up getting involved. Abby is aware of the rules Ellie has but ends up catching feelings regardless. So one day she decides to tell Ellie. Will Ellie try to let her be more than a friend with benefits?
Relationships: Abby/Dina (The Last of Us), Abby/Dina/Ellie (The Last of Us), Abby/Ellie (The Last of Us), Dina/Ellie (The Last of Us)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 47





	1. Abby

“Are you scared?” said the voice in Abby’s ear. 

Ellie was on top again, then her face was in front of Abby, almost touching her, almost kissing her but she didn’t kiss her. Ellie loved torturing her like that. Not kissing her but just barely, taunting her. It was intoxicating and Abby loved it. The torture was delicious. 

“Are you scared?” repeated Ellie, “of what? This?”

Ellie’s hands went down her neck, she started opening her buttons. With each button being open her hands went down and caressed Abby’s skin and Abby felt her breathing accelerate as Ellie undressed her. Then painfully slowly she opened Abby’s shirt while barely touching her breasts. She started caressing her there until she finally reached her nipples and then slowly again put her hands underneath her sports bra and finally touched her. Abby tried her best but she couldn’t help herself and gasped. 

_“_ Of this? _”_ asked Ellie as she touched her breasts and nipples, carefully caressing them and Abby was about to beg but held her tongue, she shouldn’t be this weak. Ellie touched her nipples and Abby was moaning again. 

“Or is it this?” taunted Ellie as she caressed Abby’s belly, gently touching her muscles and then she finally put a hand inside Abby’s pants. Abby tried to focus but she started feeling impatient, the torture Ellie puts her through is always exquisite but she just wanted her to fuck her already. As if she were reading her mind, Ellie started caressing her on top of her underwear with precision and Abby wanted to but couldn’t really manage to talk. She could only keep moaning.

“Are you scared of this then?” said Ellie as she put her hands inside Abby’s underwear and she finally put her fingers inside Abby and she couldn’t help but moan loudly and throw her head to the side. Ellie was fucking her slowly first then fast, the pace she knows perfectly well will drive Abby completely insane. 

“That’s it, come for me Abby, come” Ellie whispered, with one hand next to Abby’s head and another inside her. Ellie’s whispers were almost sweet and then she kissed Abby’s neck while she fingered her. Finally Abby came and soon after that Ellie taunted her and fucked her again and again. She’s always relentless but knows that Abby can take it. And she does, gladly.

After a while Ellie was looking and smiling at her and there was something there, something in the way she made love to her, how she spoke that made Abby feel even more vulnerable than in other occasions that they had met like this. She knew the agreement they had and she knew Ellie is in an open relationship but at the moment has not decided to have more than one main partner. Abby knew this but she felt differently. And it might not have been the best of ideas but she decided to try and open this can of worms.

“I am” said Abby

“What?” smiled Ellie

“Scared. I am terrified actually”

“Of what?” asked Ellie, still smiling, “is this another thing you would like to play, do you want me to dress up as a zombie that is actually going to eat you? I could try that”

“No” Abby shook her head and something inside of her told her she should have said yes instead and not go the way she is going but she has already said no, so she sighed and looked at Ellie, still on top of her and said it: “of you”

“How? I am just a girl, and I am smaller than you even” 

Ellie was still jesting. She was still giving Abby the chance to make a joke and laugh it all off but Abby was already here and she needed to get it out. So she licked her lips and tried to gather her courage to keep talking.

“I am scared of what I am feeling for you” said Abby.

There. It was out. Abby looked at Ellie’s eyes and absorbed every reaction from them. Confusion then surprise. Then Ellie left her side and sat by the bed. That was not a good sign but at least she didn’t see disgust in Ellie’s face. That was something, right? 

Abby sat and looked at Ellie’s back. She bit her lips but then she had to talk. She started this already.

“I mean, I know...I know what you said, you have a fixed partner, you are open to different things but she is the most important person to you, I know. And I know we have a fucked up history but I…. I just had to tell you” Abby looked at Ellie who briefly looked her way. 

_Please, don’t let that be pity in her eyes_ , thought Abby

“Abby, the history's got nothing to do with this, we have been through it already” said Ellie

“I know but.. Can’t help but think you might still think less of me because of it” Abby was looking at her own hands, thinking about all the shit they went through. There had been a time Ellie had felt nothing but hate towards Abby and some days she wondered if some of that hate lingered between them.

“Abby, that was ages ago, that has nothing to do with this but we agreed, you knew my terms” said Ellie and Abby wanted to believe it was not regret what she heard in her voice

“I know but… sometimes agreements change, right?” 

Abby dared to look at Ellie’s face and she seemed sad. That was bad, Abby started to regret discussing all of this.

“Forget it” said Abby and stood up, she angrily grabbed her shirt and tried to quickly dress up.

“Abby, please, sit down”, Ellie begged. She even sounded sincere but Abby was too upset now.

“Why? It’s obvious you are just too chicken to tell it like it is, you don’t want me”

“I do want you.”

“But you don’t want anything more from me, just drinking, playing games and cards, and fucking, that is it”

“Abby I am just surprised, that is it, I wasn’t expecting that you would start having feelings and shit”

“That _I_ would start having feelings? So that’s it, you feel nothing” Abby felt her eyes starting to fill with tears but she commanded them to stay in place. She wasn't going to cry in front of Ellie now. She felt so stupid, so used. 

“I didn’t say that” said Ellie standing up and raising her hands as if trying to calm her down.

A thought crossed Abby’s mind and it was probably a silly idea but she felt so hurt and before thinking more about the stupidity of the idea she said it.

“Was this your sick idea of revenge?”

“What?”

“Get me to fall for you then humiliate me? You didn’t even kiss me now, you just fucked me, I am just your fucktoy, I am so stupid” said Abby and wanted to just leave. She grabbed her things, desperate to get out. 

With her customary agility, Ellie reached her and with a quick side kick threw her back in bed. 

“Ellie I am not in the mood to play anymore” said Abby

Ellie and Abby were rough like this quite often and Abby did enjoy it but now she didn't want to play at fighting. Ellie was on top of her and had her in a lock so she couldn't move. Frustrated Abby gave Ellie a murderous look but then softened immediately when she saw the intensity in Ellie’s eyes. 

Fuck, she was so in love it was not funny. 

Ellie observed Abby with care, saw every change in her face and seemed to know the exact moment Abby wanted her to kiss her. Then Ellie kissed her with such an intensity it made Abby’s heart skip a bit. She was completely disarmed by it. Maybe Abby was just delusional but this kiss felt different. She wanted so much to believe it was different.

“Abby, you are not a toy to me” Ellie told her “You are important. I like you… a lot. I am not seeking revenge either, that ship has sailed a long time ago. Give me some time, ok? Maybe we can do something about all this”

Abby nodded like a fool then Ellie released her from the lock and kissed her again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was unsure whether this should be placed in mature or explicit because there will be sex but that's not the only thing. Maybe someone can suggest to be what to do in this regard.  
> Also this is a f/f/f fanfic but couldn't find it in the tags so I couldn't add it. I'm not a native English speaker but I love this OT3 and I wanted to write for them regardless. Anyway, hope you enjoy it :)


	2. Ellie

"Good morning babe" said Ellie and kissed Dina

"It can't be 6 already" and Dina turned around and coveref herself with the bedsheets

"Yes it is, here's tea, I made muffins. I wanted you to avoid becoming a cereal killer this morning"

Dina laughed and shook her head but Ellie knew that she loves these stupid jokes. 

"Thanks babe" said Dina and accepted the tea and muffin "Ugh! why is it morning already?" 

"I know, right?" saif Ellie

Dina sips her tea and took a bite of the muffin. " It's gonna be quite hard without you, you know, you spoiled me"

"Yeah, but you won't be totally alone"

"True, but this" and Dina kissed Ellie "I'm going to miss this too"

"Me too" said Ellie and smiled at her "but you know that it's fine, if you want, in the time I'm away to go out, have fun. I won't be upset"

"I know, I know it's fine but I haven't really met anyone else that I could click with since Amanda moved away and then met this dude.'

"Yeah, it's a pity about Amanda, she was cool"

"She was, wasn't she?" Dina sighed.

Ellie was thinking maybe now it would be the right time to talk about the situation with Abby. Dina had indicated that for her it was important to never know Ellie's lover's names but Ellie wanted to know this information about Dina's. For that reason Ellie never introduced Abby to Dina but Dina knew she was seeing someone else. It was not something easy to discuss though, the possibility of making Abby a more permanent part of their lives.

"But she isn't you. You're unique" 

"You are unique too" and Ellie kissed her. Then their alarm sounds again. "It's getting late"

"We can maybe use 15 minutes" said Dina and put her cup on the table next to their bed. 

"Are you sure?" said Ellie doubting slightly, she knew that Dina hates being late

"Totally" and Dina kissedher again, making Ellie forget about the time. 

The kiss evolves into sex and soon they are fingering each other while kissing. But when they are done they realize they have to hurry. So they showered together and then try and not use too much time but it proves to be really difficult. 

Finally each arrive at their respective works extremely late and have to invent some excuse about traffic.

JJ arrived later that day after visiting his dad on the weekend. They played videogames together and then have dinner. Then Ellie thought she needed to try and discuss this again with Dina.

"Did the team eat you alive today?" asked Dina when Ellie went to sit on the bed

"They weren't happy but can you believe I wasn't the latest today? " said Ellie

"Really?" asked Dina

"Yeah, Andrew was the one who arrived last"

"Wow, doesn't he live like two blocks from there?"

"Yes, that's the weirdest part, said he forgot about this morning's meeting, that guys is just the worst" 

"So unreliable, can't believe he's still flying with you guys" 

"Me neither but he is" said Ellie shrugging

"Now stop going in circles and ask"

"What?"

"You have that face" Dina gestured to Ellie's face "that you want to ask something, so ask"

Ellie sighed. Dina knows her too well.

"Remember years ago when we talked about opening our relationship"

"Yeah, I do" nodded Dina. 

It had been Dina’s idea. Because of Ellie's job she had to be away so often Dina was starting to feel lonely. It hadn't been easy for Ellie to accept but she ended up understanding and in the end even liking the idea. She hoped she could propose this in the nicest way possible.

"Well, that time we discussed we should be open and honest, and share as much as the other wanted to know"

"Yes, I remember all that, what about it?"

"We also mentioned we should be exclusive in the sense of us being the main couple and that whatever happened, we wouldn't let others in between us"

Dina nodded but she was starting to look very serious now. 

"Look. I just want to discuss the possibility of maybe discussing more about this, maybe we can consider what will happen if we were something more than two people"

"Wait, are you in love with another, are you trying to tell me you want to leave me? You want to move?"

"No, Dina, I love you. I don't want to stop being with you"

“Then, what is this?”

“I love you, I swear I do but I just wanted to try and discuss what can happen if we try and open for third person”

“Are you serious right now?”

“Dina, you said we needed honesty and I want that, I want to be with you, and love you until I die, but when you came to me about opening up… it was hard but I got used to it and now-”

“Now you aren’t satisfied with only me, now it has to be others too?”

“No, others just one other person”

“Oh, really? Well, if you made up your mind why don’t you just go to her?” 

Dina gave her back to her and sighed.

“Dina, it’s not like that, please, I am telling you I love you”

“But I am not enough” 

“It’s not that! I know it sounds strange to you but I do love you, and as I said, I can understand your frustration because to me it was also hard when you asked about opening up our relationship but I understood in the end, this is not about you not being enough, this is not about me not loving you”

Dina sighed again then went to the kitchen. She came back with a glass of wine and gulped it all down.

“Ok”

“Ok?”

“Ok” repeated Dina “I will think about it but I need time. I gave you time when we were discussing about opening up, now I need you to give me time”

“Ok”

Dina went back to the kitchen and brought more wine. She gave a glass to Ellie. She took it although she felt guilty, as if she was hurting Dina.

“I am sorry”

“Why?”

“Because I do not want to hurt you, I think I already put you under enough stress. I already have a history of stressing you out”

“Ellie, that is all in the past.” 

“Still, I put you through a lot already”

“Your quest for revenge, your obsession with finding this woman who almost killed your dad, your self-destruction, you already did the right thing by letting her go. It's fine, we don't need to go through this if you don't want to"

"Maybe… maybe I do"

"Ok, wow, that's… unexpected" 

"Yeah, I know" 

Ellie knew it was time to say these things out loud, they had implied it, they had gone in circles about it, she had apologized but had not really said it all as she should. She had not been ready before. She was now.

"Well, what do you want to say?" Dina, moved her hand in an inviting way

Ellie swallowed and coughed but then gathered the courage to talk.

"I'm just thankful that you are still with me after all" 

"I know"

"And I know that it was horrible of me to leave you when JJ and you needed me and you were about to start your course and your new job, all because I had a lead on her whereabouts… I…" Ellie looked down

"When I found Joel that day, in that alley… that day he could have died… and then all that time he spent in intensive care, in a coma... I thought he wouldn't be able to make it" Ellie sighed, sat in bed and placed her hands in her knees. Dina sat next to her and put a hand in her shoulders.

"I felt so guilty, because I had been ignoring his calls and messages, always thinking I would have time another day to go with him to watch his silly old movies. I was angry but then mostly embarrassed about what he did"

"Ellie, feeling like that was understandable" said Dina.

"But if he had died… All the time I've wasted it's just..." Ellie sighed again "it was so stupid, I was so stupid. I mean, Joel, what he did… he was just desperate, he shouldn't have punched that doctor and made such a mess. But was it really that bad?, I shouldn't have been so annoyed at him that he never told me he had done that. That I had to find out with that old news article when I was looking for info on my mom"

"Well, to be fair, that guy had operated on Sara years ago" Dina points out.

"I know, he blamed that doctor for her death. That hadn't been fair" replied Ellie.

"Yeah but can you really blame him? Of course he had trauma about all that. His daughter dies of a brain tumor and then years later his adoptive daughter develops the same type of tumor. Then you see that the guy who will operate is that same guy. On top of that, Joel is very old school in the sense he doesn't ask for mental health help. I don't think I would have done things much more differently" 

"I guess… I guess I also am a bit old school and need to look for help.”

“Uh uh” said Dina nodding

“Well, I am trying, am I not?”

“You are”

“Well, I just wanted to say that I am really thankful that you did take me back, that you did forgive me once I was back. I do not think I would have made it to my dream job had it not been for you”

“What? No, Ellie that was all you. You are smart”

“But I would not have tried had you not been there to cheer me to try” said Ellie and swallowed “Dina, what I am trying to say is, I do not see myself living without you. I love you, I do, and I honestly enjoy everything about you. Dina, I don’t want to lose you”

Dina looked at her, it seemed she was believing her. She sighed then spoke.

“I know, and I am glad. But Ellie, I think you need to try and stop feeling guilty. It is over, you don’t owe me anything. You do not need to stay with me out of some sense of responsibility”

“I am not doing that, I honestly want to be with you” insisted Ellie

“And with this other person” asked Dina, doubtfully

“Well, you see, her name-” 

Dina placed a hand in front of Ellie, interrupting her.

“Too soon.” Dina drank more wine and said “I am going to need more time for this. You barely convinced me with the idea that you still love me, so I think I need time to process all this”

“Ok, I can understand this. But I really want you to understand that I love you”

Dina looked at her and finished her wine. 

“You know” she put her glass of wine “when people said three’s a crowd, I thought they meant when you have kids you have more complications, I did not think it could mean that an open relationship could have these type of issues”

“Well, I think it’s just the name of an old series, there’s the other one who says three’s company so”

“Quite confident aren’t you?”

“What?”

“That you will get your way”

“No, I mean”

“Ellie”

“What?”

“I am trying to joke here, but you are too tense”

“Well” she looked at Dina’s smirk and smiled, “It is a heavy topic”

“I know, but you are leaving with your crew tomorrow, I won’t get to be face to face with you for six monts. Maybe we can do…” Dina said sliding her hand down Ellie’s back with intent “other things now?”

Ellie smiled and kissed her. Dina was right, sex was definetely a better use of their time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you haven’t realized - either because I have not properly indicated it here because I am no expert - Ellie is an astronaut. Since this is set in the future she might have all sorts of missions and stuff she is doing. I am not well versed in what astronauts do but since this was her dream I wanted to play with the idea of an AU where she really is doing that. Although the focus is not on her missions and what she does I just wanted her to be an astronaut.  
> Also in this version, since our characters aren’t criminals and this is not the end of the world, I thought better they not all kill each other? So Joel is alive, yay!


	3. Abby

Wine had never been a thing for Abby. Whisky was more her style. Beer if nothing else was available. She tried a new beer that Ellie had recommended to her while she checked her phone. They had spoken two days ago, two days before the day of her departure. Before Ellie left the earth she had said to Abby that she needed time to discuss this with her partner and that they could talk more when she was back on earth. She had said that she was looking forward to seeing Abby again when she was back and she even sent her the schedule of her calls so they could talk at least some minutes from time to time. She had sounded honest but Abby was apprehensive regardless. 

Her mood had not improved even though she had won at everyone in the darts that night. In particular she felt annoyed that people were such sore losers. After no one was able to win her she was left alone there. She kept on throwing darts because at least it gave her something to do. This was a new bar after all, she did not know the people here. They probably were not into competing as much as Abby was.

“Hey, hotshot”

Abby looked at the direction where that voice came. A beautiful girl with a seductive smile was looking at her in the way hungry people look at food. She was flattered but she sure as hell was not interested in complicating her life even more now. She had enough with one gorgeous girl in her life. The thought that dating girls would be easier had completely evaporated from her mind after that experience.

“Not today, satan” Abby murmured and looked back at her darts.

“What did you just say?” said the girl and came closer

“Nothing” Abby lied.

“Oh, don’t be shy” said the girl “what is your name, or shall I call you hotshot?”

“Tell you what, if you can defeat me, I will tell you”

“Deal” said the girl and took a dart from Abby’s hand.

When she took the darts she barely touched Abby but she felt a current and looked at the girl. Her defiant stare made Abby almost wish she could win. But she was not going to make this easier for her.

The girl, sadly, could not win. Abby was disappointed and thought she would leave and Abby would be back on her own to be miserable with her sour feelings. Instead the girl seemed to be even more interested.

“Ok, hotshot it is then. Wanna dance?”

Abby stared at her in surprise. 

“What? You seem confused”

“I thought… since you lost...”

“That I was going to be angry? Really, am I a little kid now?”

“No, I wasn’t saying that, it’s just that.. Most here, well..”

“Never mind them. Come on, wanna dance?”

Abby sighed, it had never been her thing but she did not feel like discouraging this girl now. Perhaps being alone and sad on a corner was not a fun way to spend the night after all. She didn’t need to get involved with her, she could just try and talk to her. 

“I’m not really that good”

The girl looked at her as if measuring her.

“Tell you what, hotshot, let’s do this your way. Follow me”

“What do you mean, my way?” Abby wondered as she followed the girl.

“Here” the girl pointed at one of those video games where you have to follow dance moves “if you win, I will tell you my name, if not you will have to live with the curiosity”

Abby was already liking this girl.

“Deal!” said Abby.

She put a coin in the machine and they started dancing. They played a couple of different songs but try as she might, she could not defeat that girl. It was like the game had been designed for her. She had never seen someone with that much rhythm and grace when dancing. It seemed she knew what notes and moves would be the ones to come and somehow she would even do it with a particular flair. The girl moves were so well coordinated, so elegant and just beautiful it felt almost surreal to watch her dance. Abby could have blamed the fact that looking at the girl was such a good show she got distracted but the truth of the matter was that she wasn’t as good as this girl was. So, obviously, she lost.

“A pity” Abby said in the end, shrugging.

“Yeah, hotshot. A true pity” said the girl, smiling sadly but then she brightened up and said “you know there is this laser-tag place, I think it’s still open, wanna go?” 

Not giving up are you? It had been a while since she had met someone that competitive.

“What is the bet now?”

“Well, your name, hotshot, I thought you got the jist of this already”

“Ok, and then after I totally defeat you, what?”

“Oh, confident, I like that, after that, what about a race?”

“For your name?”

“Of course”

“Deal” Abby smiled.

The laser tag date had been a great idea. Abby hadn’t had that much fun in a while. This time she really had to try and put an effort to win. That girl was better than expected, she was smaller and quieter than Abby and she did not make mistakes. But somehow Abby managed to win but for a small margin. 

“I’m sorry, it seems like you won’t get what you want today” said Abby to her when they were leaving the place.

The girl looked up at her and smirked “Are you sure?”

Abby swallowed. That depends really, what is it that you want?

“Come’on hotshot, let me show you something”

She took Abby to a nearby park. There was a running track.

“See that sycamore tree?” said the girl and touched Abby's arm. Her hand was so soft and her touch felt good. 

Stop, this is fun, don't ruin it again, this time I have to win, thought Abby

"You know which one I mean?" The girl looked up at her

Abby nodded. 

"We ran to it. In three" said the girl as she was placing herself in position.

Abby got ready and then the girl counted to three. They ran. Abby wondered what her name was. For some reason she imagined it had to be something with a C. Carmen, Claudia, Cecilia? What could it be? She was confident she could win this and while they runned it seemed they were quite even but then at the last minute the girl sped up and despite all her efforts Abby was unable to keep up. Soon the girl was in front of her and although the sight of her ass was very appealing, Abby felt frustrated. 

The girl won and Abby was left breathless, leaning and holding her knees and trying to recover her breath. 

"How come…" she had trouble breathing "you are a runner, aren't you?"

Abby looked up. The girl smiled and nodded.

The sun was rising already, the light that went through the tree leaves was illuminating her and made her look ethereal. The morning was beautiful and so was she. The whole thing frustrated Abby even more. She really wanted to know this girl a bit more but they had been running in circles and had not been able to get to know each other much. Why did she need to pin for someone who might or might not want her for real? She had the right to have fun and instead she had been sabotaging herself all night. This girl seemed interested and fun, but she had been pushing her away all the time. She regretted it now. 

"That's… unfair" 

They had clicked so easily and now she wouldn't get to know who this girl was. 

"Is it? I mean I took the risk to challenge you in something you are clearly superior at, it's only fair to see whether you were better at me in this." 

"Fair… enough" Abby inhaled and exhaled and tried to talk normally "but I still don't know your name"

"You could do like me, hotshot, why don't you give me one?", the girl teased.

Maybe Abby was in luck, the girl seemed still interested despite winning so Abby decided to try.

"Bunny?" 

Abby regretted it the second the word left her mouth. It sounded silly, what was she, a little child? Couldn't she have come up with something sexy or adventurous? Abby was in a bad position, she felt very ridiculous, as she was still leaning forwards and holding her knees while looking towards the girl. She probably thought Abby was stupid, what kind of absurd nickname was that?

Yet the girl smiled brightly, went to her until she was right in front, looked at her and tilted her head, put a finger in Abby's chin and moved Abby’s face slightly upwards while she approached her face to Abby's.

"Perfect" she whispered and kissed Abby.


	4. Dina

The book she had picked up from the library was not her favourite but Dina was damned if she wasn't going to finish it. Only a couple more pages to go. Then JJ knocked at the door.

"Come in"

"So, what do you think?"

JJ gave a turn and smiled. He was wearing a hat, a long sleeved and long coat that twirled nicely as he turned and his make up was impeccable. 

"You look like those K-pop guys from years ago"

"Thank you, I'm going to an oldies K-pop party, I was aiming for that look. I was just chatting with Jennifer, she tried to accomplish this but ended up more with a visual key look" they said laughing

"Your girlfriend is trying, you know her thing is horror so this vibrancy is hard for her"

"I know" they shrugged "I just think it's hilarious how despite all the info I send her she gets it wrong. We have been preparing for like a week"

“Why didn’t you go to her and helped her then?”

“Oh well, she’s just stubborn. She said she did not need my help”

“Well, regardless I hope you guys have fun at the party”

“Oh, we will, totally, there will be a couple of new bands and I am sure you would like them. They make covers from many of these oldies you guys probably heard in your teenage times” JJ teased

“Ha, ha, ha, like if we were that old” 

“Mom, I am sure in your times you did not even had internet or something”

“Of course we did, we’re not grandpa Joel and even he had internet back in his time”

“Doubtful” teased JJ

Dina’s alarm in her phone started sounding.

“Oh, is it that time already?” said Dina and JJ came to sit next to her while she grabbed her laptop and placed it on top of a book she had nearby. She opened the video app and waited until Ellie was connected. Few seconds after that they saw her radiant smile as she said hello. JJ was always happy to see their mama Ellie in space. They were so proud for her. It was not easy being accepted in the spaceship programme, let alone actually be able to make it as an astronaut. Ellie was exceptionally lucky and talented. JJ talked and talked about their classes, their girlfriend and their plans for the week. Dina listened and smiled. Then at one point JJ’s phone rang and they realized they were going to run late and said they would have to use the bike, walking to their girlfriend’s house was not an option anymore. The party was not so far from there but talking with mama Ellie seemed to have made JJ forget about the time. 

Dina and Ellie were lucky with JJ. They had been extremely patient with both their moms when they had started with the process of realizing that they were gender fluid. Ellie and Dina had experience in the queer community for years, what with Ellie being gay and Dina being bi, but even though they had met many gender fluid people before they had never been quite close to any gender fluid person before. It had been a challenge for all parties involved. JJ then had explained all about the pronouns and how important it was and with time they were becoming better at it. Luckily their nickname, JJ, was neutral enough and they liked it fine as it was. Despite her looks and attire, JJ’s current girlfriend was also a good person, the previous hadn’t been such a nice girl but this one seemed to be good for JJ. Jennifer was always dressed in black and one could have sworn that with a look she could command bats to do her bidding but she was obviously unable to do that. It was just how she liked to dress and how she was attracted to all things dark. JJ and Jennifer were an interesting couple, he was vibrant and very present while she aimed at disappearing into the night if she could. But they got along and JJ was happy so that was fine for Ellie and Dina.

JJ left and then Ellie and Dina remained alone and talked about work and simple life things. But then there was an awkward silence and Dina felt exactly the moment when Ellie was going to bring that subject up. She braced herself for it.

“So… have you thought about our discussion?”

Dina sighed.

“Yeah, I have been thinking about it” 

Ellie waited and Dina licked her lips.

“I think… well, I think it's a bit hard to discuss these things by video. I know! This is the option we have now”

Dina’s phone rang. She saw she had a message from JJ. They had sent a picture of themselves with Jennifer. They were both at the party already. Dina smiled.

“What is it?”

“It’s just JJ, they are fine, they arrived to the party”

“Oh, is Jenny laughing?”

“You know damn well she isn’t, and she doesn’t like that nickname”

“Oh, come’ on”

“Ellie, she told you already”

“Ok, I am just trying to make her feel welcomed”

“It’s ok, but remember just because she isn’t laughing it doesn’t mean she is not having a good time, not everyone is a clown like you”

“I know” Ellie shrugged “I just like to make others laugh”

“I am aware” Dina smiled

Ellie smiled at seeing her smile. “You are gorgeous, you know that?”

“I have been told as much”, said Dina and moved her hair out of her face with a hand in a fabulous way, then smirked.

Ellie laughed, saying to her it was such a lovely sight. But Dina knew they had to discuss this.

“You know, I really wish to sort this out but I think I need more time. To be honest to me it is a bit too soon.” 

“I see” said Ellie, solemnly.

“I think I am not as opposed to this as I was last time we talked”

Ellie tilted her head in curiosity.

“I thought you just said it is too soon”

“Yes but… what I mean is, I do not think it is as crazy an idea as I thought it was when you mentioned but that I need to think about it a bit more”

“That’s understandable. I want to respect your time, whatever you need and I don’t know, if you can tell me how to help…”

“Look, I don’t know how much reflecting time I need, so this other girl, she will have to be very patient”

“Dina, this is a bit ridiculous, are you sure you don’t want to know her name?” 

“Yes, for now, please”

“Ok, if that is better”

“It is for me now, just let me think more, ok?”

“Ok… you know I love you, do you?”

Dina’s phone rang again. She looked at it briefly

“I know,” Dina replied, still looking at the phone

“JJ again?”

“What?” said Dina distracted

“The message” Ellie asked

“Oh, no, it’s just a friend asking me for coffee later. Not a big deal” said Dina

Ellie’s eyes squinted but she said “Ok, as you say”

“Anyway, as I was saying I think you need to tell her to wait, but that the answer still is not decided, hope she is fine with it”

“Hope she is” said Ellie “look, I have only a minute, I just wanted to remind you again, that I love you and miss you, just in case you are having some doubts”

“I know, I do miss you and love you too, it’s just… it is hard to process all of this and then there’s the distance, it feels more than just physical”

“I can sense it too but I don’t want to lose you”

“Good, then we are probably going to make it” said Dina.


	5. Ellie

The following day passed and although Ellie was in fucking space, she felt empty. She was doing everything automatically, barely talking to her crew and repeating in her mind the conversation with Dina.

_Good, then we are probably going to make it_

Probably? Had it really been that bad an idea to bring the subject to Dina? She was terrified she could lose her. She couldn’t deny she was starting to have feelings for Abby and it wasn’t fair to her to keep her at a distance anymore. But she was so afraid she had screwed Dina one time too many.

“Ok, Ellie, stop with that and let’s feed you”

Ellie looked at Riley in frustration. Riley had been her first girlfriend when they were barely 13 and 14 years old. It had lasted only for a year and then Riley had moved to another state. They lost touch despite all the chances they had to chat or videocall and then they had met again at the astronaut programme. Somehow both had managed to make it and they had started being friends again. It had been so long since they had dated and none seemed awkward anymore about their past. Both were married to lovely women now. But the fact remained that Riley was still very good at noticing Ellie’s changes in behavior and would still attempt to cheer her up whenever she saw her in a bad mood.

Ellie thought it was a blessing and a curse at the same time. She still wanted to process these things alone most of the time but then she knew her taciturn mood was probably making everyone uncomfortable now. She sighed and obeyed Riley.

When they had finished eating Riley looked at her pointedly.

“Ok, spit it out”

“Disgusting, I just ate”

Riley looked at her with a tired stare “You know what I mean, smartass”

Ellie sighed.

“Trouble in paradise?” guessed Riley

Ellie nodded “To be fair, I brought it on myself”

“Here we go, with poor old terrible Ellie who is the worst person alive” mocked Riley

“Fuck you”

“Duh, I do, you know this” said Riley, still joking

Ellie rolled her eyes but still laughed. Riley smiled.

“Ok, the thing is… you know how Dina and I are in an open relationship”

“Yeah, and now another is trying to take your girl or what?”, asked Riley

“No, it’s not that”

“Because let me tell you, she is kinda super hot”

“I know, I am quite lucky” said Ellie proudly. “No, the thing is, I am seeing this girl”

Ellie sighed. How was she going to explain to Riley that she was dating her former archnemesis and was proposing to the love of her life that they should include her into their lives? Riley was looking at her expectantly. This was hard.

“See, remember what I told you years ago, about how Joel almost died 15 years ago?”

“Yeah, that this huge girl was beating him to a pulp and you called the police and then managed to stop her although she was way stronger than you. I remember, you barely made it. Then Joel went into a coma, you couldn’t remember her face and shit. Then he woke up and didn’t want to tell you or the police" recalled Riley

“Tommy… he managed to get the story out of him, that the girl had been the daughter of the surgeon who he blamed for Sarah’s dead”

“True, I remember you telling me this. Then you went on that quest and for years didn’t find her, then you followed a lead that took you nowhere”

“Yeah, and I abandoned Dina with a 6 month old baby to do that,” Ellie always felt bad remembering these things.

“Hey, Ellie, that was years ago, if Dina forgave you already you can forgive yourself too, ok?”

“I know”

“You better. I remember, yes, and then you found her at your karate club 4 years ago, she started attending it. That was crazy! I mean you stop caring and then she comes back into your life like that, then you were the one who almost beat her to a pulp in an alley”

“Yeah, not my better moment either”

“Hey, it is kinda cool how you manage to beat that girl up, considering how much bigger she is than you, as you said, and it is great that you managed to stop when you saw that those kids were looking for her”

“Yeah, seeing those kids,” said Ellie shaking her head “it was like seeing myself, it was just…”

“Yeah, you couldn’t do it, luckily, it’s good they stopped you” then Riley looked confused “but, what does she have to do with… wait a minute… are you dating Abby?”

Ellie felt very embarrassed for some reason. Yes, this was very hard to explain. _How the hell am I going to explain this to Dina?_

“Whaaat? Really, Ellie, of all the girls? You need to tell me this story”

Ellie didn't know how but she tried.

“Well, it was… how to put it… It was like... I was beating her to a pulp, then the kids came and were calling her name and I let her go when seeing their worried faces. I just left her there on the floor and tried to leave. Then the kids tried to stop me, and wanted to call the police. And Abby… she stopped them. She said to them, I had a right to do that. She confessed to the kids that she had almost killed my dad. One of the kids looked so disappointed and the other was just in shock. I told them that sometimes people we love do fucked up shit and left. After a week or so she came back to the club. I couldn’t believe my eyes!”

“Maybe she’s a masochist” suggested Riley

“Maybe… anyway, she said that she didn’t mean any funny business but that she enjoyed the sport and that the location of the club was convenient to her. That she liked the style and that she was there only to train, nothing more. I was furious but I couldn’t kick her from there, I don’t own the place. And I was not going to stop going to the club I loved”

“Of course” agreed Riley

“Anyway, somehow we ended up getting used to each other and at some point we took our rivalry to a more competitive relationship, trying always to beat the other and such. Then two years ago there was the karaoke party for the club.”

“It was around this time that you guys opened your relationship?”

“No, that was already 5 years ago. Anyway, Dina couldn’t go because of her job and then somehow Abby started daring me to sing. She gave me a song, she thought I couldn’t sing and then I did the same and then she gives me this old french song _Ego_ and…” Ellie laughed at the memory “she really thought I couldn’t pull it off, it is not my style but she couldn't know that Dina really loves these old french songs, so of course I left them all speechless”

“Your ego is big enough, but you can sing, no doubt about that. And your French is flawless” 

“Believe it or not, the song is about being a better person and not a stuck up bitch”

“Interesting, so, what happened?”

“Well… after that, her attitude changed. I mean, already when I was singing her face was like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing or hearing. After that, the following week I found her on the bar I normally go to and she was drinking and somehow we started talking. I can’t really say what happened, it was like we started teasing each other and somehow I ended up telling her about being in an open relationship. And.. it must have been the beer talking or something, I asked her if she was interested. She seemed doubtful but then I kissed her”

“You kissed her? You?”

“Yeah”

“Wow, you liked her that much”

“Yeah, it was.. Unexpected for me but then we hit it off and it was a lot of fun being with her. She told me she had gone after Joel because he hit her dad. When I became sick and he was appointed to do the surgery Joel did not want him to operate on me and made him feel guilty over the operation of Sarah. Then, briefly after that, it turns out another colleague had told her dad he had made a mistake during Sarah’s operation so the guy became depressed and drank too much one night and had a car accident and died. Abby beat the crap of that colleague but she could not find Joel because we had moved, then she did and well.. You know the rest now”

“I see”

“She apologized several times and admitted she shouldn’t have done it, no one really made her dad drink and drive that night and well, it had been hard for her to process all that and I knew a thing or two about guilt so I could empathize. We ended up becoming closer and so one day she told me her feelings for me were stronger and that she wanted more, basically. I said I would talk with Dina”

“Well, I guess that did not go that well. But… wasn’t she the one who asked to open the relationship?”

“Yeah but there were rules, she did not want anyone else to be more important than the two of us, we were the main couple and the others shouldn’t be more important or as important”

“Well, feelings are a bit messy, I don’t know how much sense would those rules make”

“It was working until the Abby thing, I have to say”

“Well, so what are your plans?”

“Waiting?” Ellie shrugged “There is not much else I can do. I have to be patient with Dina, I don’t want to lose her but I had to admit that I am also feeling more for Abby, it isn’t fair to leave her like that”

“You do like her a lot it seems”

“I do.. But I love Dina, I loved Dina for longer” Ellie didn’t know if she was making sense “I know it’s weird but I do love Dina, it’s probably unconventional to feel so much for two people but I am really feeling this”

“I believe you, I mean, you are not the only poly couple I know, there are different people out there and I am sure monogamy isn't for everyone. I think what you guys are doing is brave and honest but probably more difficult than what the rest is doing”

“Maybe, sometimes I wonder if I should have agreed at all”

“I think Dina would have resented you otherwise, you might have lost her that way.”

Ellie sighted

“Look, maybe instead of thinking about what might happen, try and take it as it comes, ok, one day at a time?” Riley smiled encouragingly to Ellie

Ellie tried to smile but she couldn’t. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't know about you but I like Riley


	6. Abby

The day was windy but sunny. It wasn’t really that hot but Abby still was putting on some sunscreen, because she knew that her skin was sensitive and because it helped her to have something to do with her hands while she waited. Finally she arrived.

“Hi, Hotshot” 

Bunny smiled and came to her. She was wearing simple jogging clothes and a cap but somehow she was still looking amazing. She was also carrying a backpack with a thermos.

_How does she do that?_ , wondered Abby.

“Hi, Bunny, you know, I have been reading, and if all goes well, you should be safe”

“Why?” Bunny tilted her head and looked amused but confused.

“I know that rabbits can swim”

The girl put a hand in her face but she was laughing, “Oh, dear”

“I know, joking is not my specialty but I swear these” she pointed at the package she had in her hands “are really good”

“They better be” said she but she was still smiling.

_Ok, not a total disaster yet_ , thought Abby.

“So” said Bunny “where is our boat?”

“It’s that one, the white and blue one” said Abby.

“Let’s go”, said Bunny.

They walked to the boat and then Abby’s phone started ringing. She saw who was calling and immediately stopped walking. It was Owen.

“Can you excuse me one minute?”, said Abby, trying to sound as normal as possible. Bunny nodded and so she got a bit further away and answered.

“Hi”, said Abby, slightly anxious. 

He had not called her in months, they had agreed not to talk anymore and that it was not going to work for any of them so she was surprised but she couldn’t deny she missed him still. He had known her for years and he was familiar and he had been there for her when her dad had died. Most of her friends lived far away, it was only Owen who was living slightly nearer to her. Perhaps that was the reason why they had not been able to stop seeing each other for so long and had such a hard time letting go.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”, asked Mel.

_Oh no!,_ thought Abby

“Ehm, hi Mel… I’m-”

“I don’t care what you are feeling or where you are, you should stop”, said Mel.

“Excuse me? Why are you calling?”, asked Abby, she didn’t need this now. And from his phone! _What the fuck?_ , Abby thought. 

“Why? Really? Is this how it is going to go?”, screamed Mel.

“Mel, do you have a point? I don’t understand why you are calling me now from his number”, said Abby.

“Really, I find out he’s been texting and calling you, and this is what you have to say?”

“Mel, that was months ago and we all came clean to you”

“Do you have no shame? Sleeping with my boyfriend while we were expecting a baby and then talking to me like this? And you are not being honest now, why does he have your number under a funny name then? It’s because he’s trying to hide something from me”

“Well, shouldn’t you ask him then?”

“I am asking you now””

“I have not talked to him in months”

She heard that Mel was fuming on the other side. She was so angry.

“You know what you are? You are a piece of shit, you have always been. You should probably hand those kids to someone else in your family, someone decent before they become shit like you”

Now Abby was the one who became furious.

“Mel, say whatever the fuck you want about me, I won’t make excuses, I was terrible to you but don’t you even think about involving my kids, don’t you dare talking about them”

“I am done with you”, said Mel and hung up. 

Abby remained there for some seconds, trying to stop her tears and trying to not become too overwhelmed. Mel had been her friend too, years ago, but then the Joel incident happened. Her friends had helped her fly away and not get caught, Owen and Manny had driven themself to her and taken her from that city. Nora had taken care of her wounds and Whitney and Leah hacked the cameras nearby and tried to erase any trace of Abby near the scene where she had almost killed Joel. All her friends had come to her aid but apart from Manny and Nora, the rest had been so shocked by what she did. Mel had been the most shocked of them all. Their friendship never recovered. She missed the old days when they had shared beers and laughed about silly things but there was nothing she could do now. Particularly after sleeping with Owen. That had made things worse, definitely.

“Are you ok there, hotshot?”, asked Bunny, keeping a respectful distance.

“Yeah, yeah, sorry for making you wait”, said Abby, still giving her back to Bunny and then rubbed her face clean of tears. 

“You sure?”

“Yeah, let’s go”

Abby looked down, trying to hide her red eyes and went to the boat. She placed herself in the seat with the oars. Abby liked to row on the weekends, so she hoped Bunny would enjoy rowing with her in the lake. And rowing helped her relax so she hoped this would make her forget that horrible call.

“You know, Hotshot” said Bunny once they were already in the middle of the lake “I never pictured you as a romantic”

“What makes this situation romantic in particular?”, asked Abby, already feeling slightly better and mentally thanking Bunny for not asking too much about the call.

“Well, the lake, the boat… it’s very epoch movie stuff, like in the 18th century sort of thing, isn’t it? Although I am missing my long dress and my umbrella”

“Yeah well, I doubt an 18th century couple would have fucked already at this point in the relationship” replied Abby without thinking much about it and looking at where she wanted to go, near some willow trees that were in an islet. 

They had sex on the first night they met but then they had already gone out a couple more times. They talked quite freely and that made everything more fun and relaxed to Abby.

“Oh, so this isn’t about romance but about your kink, you want boat sex?”

“What?” Abby looked at Bunny in alarm but she was not upset, she was looking as if she meant business. Abby felt her face turn red “No, I mean, I don’t know if this boat would hold… and someone could see...”

“I don’t see anyone now” said Bunny looking around them “If you are aiming at those trees, I think they could be a good cover, if you want to be safe”

“Eh… I.. that wasn’t what I had in mind, I mean, I brought breakfast” but Abby had actually planned on taking them there, because of the shade not because of what Bunny was suggesting.

“Well, we can experiment a little, can’t we?”

_Why the hell not_?, thought Abby, she had never done it in a boat.

“I guess we can but if it becomes unstable we stop ok?” 

Bunny nodded. Abby continued rowing until she reached the shade. Bunny came to her slowly, trying not to fall from the boat, then she sat in front of her and kissed Abby. They kissed for a while. Initially it was a sweet kiss then it became more deep and Abby’s hands went to Bunny’s body and started touching her. Bunny took that as indication she could put her hands in Abby’s pants. The velocity in which she removed it from Abby was surprising, in no time she had her fingers inside Abby and was making her moan. Abby did her best to hold herself and not be too loud but the girl was good, she was really good. She was fucking her without a care, and her hair was becoming disheveled with the effort but it only made her look more attractive. She caressed her clit and Abby, trying to avoid screaming kissed her and moaned in her mouth. Then Abby fingered Bunny and made her come too.

After they were done, Bunny licked her fingers and looking at her said:

“Very delicious breakfast, we should do this again”

“You are a terrible influence, you know that?” said Abby while putting on her pants again.

“If anything I am a catalyst, you are the one who suggested this”

“Hey, I was only planning on sandwiches” said Abby opening her package with sandwiches.

“Careful I think it’s early for that”, said Bunny, opening her thermus and pouring tea and giving one cup to Abby.

“What?” asked Abby, confused, and offering a sandwich to her.

“I need to know you better first to know if I want a threesome with you and another” said Bunny, while she took the sandwich and bit on it with purpose.

Abby laughed.

“Not sure if I can take two people at the same time” admitted Abby and started eating.

“Well, it might be something we can learn together then” said Bunny and winked.

“I can’t believe you haven’t yet”

“Why, because I am so forward?”

“Because you are gorgeous”

Bunny smiled but shook her head. They continued eating and joking during the morning. Then Abby rowed back to the shore. 

“You know, next time we should try bungee jumping, but I doubt we can have sex while falling”

Abby trembled at the thought, and not because it sounded hot to her.

“I’m sorry but I will have to pass, I don’t like bungee jumping”

“Have you ever tried?”

“No”

“Then how do you know?”

“I just know”, said Abby feeling uncomfortable

“Do you dislike heights?” asked Bunny

Abby sighed. It annoyed her how everyone always found out about this so easily. It wasn’t something she liked to share, she did not like looking weak.

“It’s ok, we can try to go for a swim at a beach, or go to sauna, or go hiking, there are many things we can still try”, said Bunny smiling.

Abby looked at her. She was not mocking her or anything so she relaxed a bit.

They went to Abby’s place. They had planned to watch some oldies, at least one of the options they had at hand. It took some time to decide which movie to watch and then Abby went to the kitchen and started making popcorn when she heard someone entering her house.

_Oh shit, they didn’t say they would come today!_

“MOM! There’s someone in the living room and she’s touching your clock” yelled Lev disapprovingly.

Abby went to the living room.

“Hi”, said Abby to Lev and Yara.

“Surprise?” said Yara awkwardly, attempting to smile.

“Hi” said Bunny and shook Yara’s hand “I’m a friend of your mom”

Lev looked at her hand and then he shook her hand too.

“Sorry” said Bunny, “It’s true, I was checking at your old clock, mind if I take a look at it?”

“Sure, look at it” said Abby, without thinking much about it.

“I’m sorry we are interrupting, we need you to see some papers and sign something for Lev” said Yara.

“Ok, why don’t we go to the studio?”, suggested Abby.

“Actually I want to drink something, can we go to the kitchen instead?” said Lev. 

“Uhm, sure,” said Abby and looked at Bunny, who was watching at the clock with curiosity “do you mind?”

“No, go ahead but, do you mind if I go get some stuff from my car?”

“No, you can go”, said Abby trying to hide her disappointment.  _ I guess that’s it for today. _

“I’ll be back in a second” said Bunny and left so fast her nickname seemed to become her quite well.

__

Abby sighed and they went to the kitchen.

__

Lev was opening the fridge and taking some food that he heated up. He seemed in no rush to show her the papers Yara had mentioned before.

__

“So... “ said Yara looking very contrite “Look, I am really sorry we didn’t tell you, but well, Ellie is gone and then… well, we somehow assumed you would be home and alone”

__

“No, it’s ok, don’t worry”

__

“So, you finally ditched Ellie?” asked Lev then poured water in a glass and drank.

__

“No, it’s… I am… jeez… I am just trying something.. She… I don’t even know her name” said Abby truthfully.

__

“Wow, that sounds adventurous” said Yara and she looked proud.

__

“It’s not like that” Abby shook her head “It’s.. we met in a bar, I was in a bad mood, she asked me my name, I didn’t want to tell her and we started these weird series of bets where the prize was the name of the other”

__

“And what happened?” asked Lev, who seemed very interested now.

__

“She kept losing the ones where she would get to know my name and I kept losing the ones where I could learn her name so… we use nicknames” now that Abby was telling it she felt quite ridiculous.

__

“Sounds like a lot of fun” said Yara, smiling.

__

“Yeah, maybe you should try keeping her, sounds like she will keep you under your toes” said Lev

__

“On your toes, Lev” corrected Yara

__

“Whatever, she understood” said Lev

__

Abby nodded and smiled briefly. Both Lev and Yara had been quite sheltered, what with being raised in a cult, apart from the rest of humanity. Yara had adapted faster than her brother, somehow catching up and absorbing things faster but Lev was trying his best. His mistakes were adorable to Abby but she tried not to discourage him by laughing. 

__

Yara’s face fell.

__

“We just fucked up your date, didn’t we? She’s not coming back” Yara opened the door of the kitchen and looked at the front door.

Lev started eating and shrugged. “If she’s gone just because you have kids then she’s not worth it”

He said it with confidence but still looked at Abby to check if she agreed.

“Of course, you are my kids, you are my people, no way another person is more important” said Abby.

She wasn’t lying to them but was very disappointed that Bunny had decided that kids were not her thing. She had not had this much fun in a while and she really needed someone easy going like her. 

“Abby, you have a right to be happy, next time we will let you know before coming, right?” said Yara and nugged at her brother.

“Why? This is our home” said Lev defensively 

“Lev, Abby has a right to date” protested Yara

“Lev is right, this is your home” said Abby, carefully. Lev still needed a lot of affirmation, he needed to know he was wanted and that this was his place. Abby wasn’t going to push him away or reject him in any way.

“But..” Yara protested again “We have our dorms at uni, it’s not fair that you sacrifice your life for us”

“No, it’s not like that, it’s not a sacrifice, I love you guys, you are my kids” said Abby

Lev smiled “love you too, mom”

“Yes, and because we love you, next time we will let you know before coming” insisted Yara.

Lev looked at Yara as if he wanted to throw daggers at her but said nothing and continued eating.

“Anyway, what are you kids up to? How is uni?” asked Abby

Lev shrugged “It’s ok, lots to catch up to do”

“I love it, I met a couple of girls and we have been hanging out and it has been fun. Classes are ok, there are some that seem like it will be very difficult but I have a study group. Lev also made one” said Yara enthusiastically.

“Really, that is awesome” said Abby happily.

“Yeah, a couple of kids and I bonded over our interest in traditional archery and other geeky things they said” replied Lev. He seemed more relaxed now.

“Good for you, I am glad”

“Also, I was recently contacted by another girl who abandoned our cult, she said she wanted to meet today for ice cream” said Yara

“Another one? Wow, hope they disintegrate soon” said Lev

“Hope so too” said Abby but she knew it was very unlikely. It was still a powerful group, many were leaving everyday but they still had quite the following despite the scandals surrounding it.

“But we did come here because we need you to sign some papers for us” said Yara.

“Ok, let’s look at them” said Abby

Yara took some papers from her backpack and was about to give them to Abby when the bell rang.

“Did you order pizza?” asked Yara looking at Lev who was chatting on his phone while he ate.

“Me? No” said Lev.

Abby went to the door and to her surprise it was Bunny.

“Hey!” she said happily, carrying a huge bag and entering “Sorry for the delay, turns out I didn’t have all my equipment in the car and this baby needs more than my common set of tools”

“Uh?” replied Abby, confused, “baby?”

“Yeah, this one” said Bunny pointing at the old clock “you are ok with me looking at it right?”

Abby was doubtful. She was glad that Bunny was back and had not lied when she said she wanted to pick up something from her car. She had expected the pretty girl to leave and maybe disappear from her life but it seemed she took her repairing antiques hobby very seriously. She had been looking at the clock ever since she arrived at Abby’s. The clock was no longer functional but it had belonged to her dad and she never let anyone touch it.

“Uhm… well, the thing is that this is really important to me.. I mean I know it doesn’t work but I still don’t want to lose it”

“I understand, I swear I will not break it”

“Well, it is already broken” admitted Abby

“I won’t break it more than what it is, I swear” said Bunny and she seemed honest

Abby bit her lips and thought that she could take a chance.

“Ok”

Bunny smiled so brightly, as if she had been told she had won the lottery or something. Then she went to the clock and put her heavy bag on the floor and opened it. Abby looked at her briefly and went back to the kitchen. 

When she approached the kitchen door she heard some commotion and then she saw how Yara and Lev were both pretending to read the papers. Obviously they had been listening.

“You are terrible at pretending, did you know?” said Abby

“On our defense, we were just so surprised she came back and became very curious” admitted Yara

“Yeah, she wasn’t lying, for a change you seem to have found a good partner” said Lev, sounding sincerely surprised. Yara hit him on the arm. “What? It’s true!”

“You should keep this one” said Yara

“She’s not a pet” said Abby but she couldn’t help but smile.

“You should still try and keep her, ditch the other one” insisted Lev

“I mean, if that is what you want. I mean, I know you had very good times with Ellie it’s just that lately we think she’s making you a bit unhappy” said Yara trying to sound respectful “you need to do what you find is better for you but.. This one seems very nice. How do you call her? How does she call you?”

“Why is that important?” asked Lev

“It’s obvious that they are having fun with this nickname thing, we shouldn’t ruin it for them” said Yara to Lev

“Oh, that makes sense! So, what are your nicknames?” asked Lev, sounding curious.

“Ehm… well, she calls me hotshot” confessed Abby

“Is this about your aim?” asked Lev

“Yeah” said Abby

“And her nickname?” insisted Yara, sounding very excited.

_Oh boy… that one I am not sure I want to say,_ thought Abby.

“Let’s look at your papers” said Abby.

“Mom, what do you call her?” insisted Lev

“Uhm... “ Abby sighted “well, it’s… she is a runner so… bunny…” 

Abby scratched her neck and looked at her kids awkwardly. They simply stared at her in silent disapproval.

“And she accepted this?” said Yara unconvinced. 

“Yeah, definitely keep this one, she forgave you this, she will forgive anything” said Lev

“It’s not that bad” said Abby defensively

They just gave her the papers and did not reply. While Abby read the forms and permissions with Lev and Yara they drank juice. Abby was still checking some of these with Lev when Yara went to take juice to Bunny. Only after finishing that with Lev did Abby realize that Yara had not come back. 

She went with Lev to the living room where Bunny was putting her things away and talking quite lively with Yara. Abby heard a strange sound she believed was familiar but she was not so sure she knew what it was. When they saw Abby and Lev, Bunny smiled and pointed at the clock.

“Ta-da!” said Bunny “see, you can trust me with these things”

Abby looked at it and her mouth fell open in surprise.

“How..?” Abby couldn’t believe her eyes, it was working again. 

Lev and Yara whistled in approval, they had the habit of whistling together in different ways to communicate different things. It was something they had learned in their cult and it was one of the only things they decided to keep from their previous life.

Bunny was smiling brightly, quite proud of herself. Yara went to Abby and stood next to her, while she wrote on her phone.

“Definitely keep her, who knows what other miracles she can perform” Lev whispered in Abby’s ears.

“Gotta say I agree” whispered Yara in her other ear.

“What are you plotting there?” said Bunny tilting her head and pointing at the three of them.

“We are just planning on going for pizza, there’s a good place nearby” said Yara and grabbed Lev by the arm.

“What about your friend?” asked Lev

“I just texted her already, told her we should meet next week instead, she agreed, let’s go”

“Ok”, agreed Lev and didn’t protest anymore. Both Lev and Yara kissed Abby goodbye.

“Later, Bu” said Yara and left waving to Bunny. Even Lev waved goodbye to Bunny.

“Nice kids” said Bunny after they left. She was sweating and grabbed a small towel to clean herself.

“Yeah, they are great. You know, when you mentioned the other day that your hobby was repairing old stuff I didn’t think you were this talented”

“I’m full of surprises, aren’t I?”

“You are”

“Sorry, I got all yucky while I worked with your clock”

“Wanna ditch the movie date and shower together?”

“As much as I love the idea, I don’t have a change of clothes” admitted Bunny but she did sound interested

“You could wear something from me?” suggested Abby

Bunny tilted her head and seemed to be considering something.

“I know I am bigger but I do have some shirts with belts that could probably fit you like a dress”

“That could work”, said Bunny and went to Abby and put her hands around her.

“Can I be honest with you?”

“I always appreciate honesty” said Bunny with intent but then she said “wait, are you going to tell me I smell?”

Abby laughed “No… that’s not it, even if you do a little but that’s fine”

Bunny made an indignant face but let her keep talking.

“No, what I mean is that it was really nice what you did, that was amazing really”

“You are welcomed”

Abby kissed her and grabbed her ass, then lifted her and took her to the shower.


	7. Dina

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OBS: Strong language

Jennifer was taking the cookies from the oven. The girl loved cooking, said it distracted and calmed her. Dina had to admit she was quite good at it. Jesse and JJ were late, again but Jennifer was nice enough and was surprisingly easy to talk to, particularly when she was cooking. 

“You know” said Dina grabbing one cookie and eating it “you should really considering this as your calling”

“Thank you” said Jennifer “but to be honest I doubt people will appreciate my decorative style”

“Why? There’s plenty of people out there who love gothic stuff”

“Not to this level” insisted Jennifer.

“I mean, sure, cookies that look like rotten brains and very realistic bats may seem like too much but you never know, you may be successful, plus these are delicious”

“Maybe” said Jennifer shrugging “My sister Julia thinks it’s just too creepy for a bakery and that bakeries are usually all pink and cute”.

“Julia might be older than you but she doesn’t really know shit about these things”

They heard the doorbell ring.

“Finally” said Dina and went to the door and opened.

“Hello!” said JJ and hugged Dina and then went and kissed Jennifer.

“Hello Dina, hello Jenny” said Jesse coming in but staying near the door.

“Hi Mr. Jesse” said Jennifer looking even more sullen than normally.

“Really? You and Ellie are terrible at this” complained Dina

“What? I’m just being friendly” said Jesse

“She asked you not to call her that” whispered Dina

“It’s ok, Mrs, don’t worry” said Jennifer

“Don’t gaslight your own self, Jennifer, if you ask not to be called that, you won't be called that. What you are asking for is not irrational”

Jennifer lowered her head and JJ went to hug her.

“Sorry Jennifer” said Jesse in the end but he looked confused.

“It’s ok” insisted Jennifer. 

“Bye, dad, see you next weekend” said JJ sounding annoyed and left with her to the kitchen.

“Bye Mr” said Jennifer.

Dina looked at Jesse and put her hands in her hips.

“I get it, she doesn’t like it” Jesse said defensively.

“It’s not just that, she had an abusive uncle who used to call her that, he beat her up a lot, it brings bad memories” said Dina

“Shit, I didn’t know”

“Yeah, we were talking about different things and she explained it to me”

“Wow, she trusts you” said Jesse in surprise.

“Well, it took some time, she came two hour ago and she did say that baking relaxes her. I guess it helped her release some stuff”

“Damn, that is heavy… I will be more careful next time. Sorry that we are late, mom bought a new camera and was experimenting new shots with JJ, they were very excited, you know JJ loves pictures”

“Oh dear, I can imagine how happy JJ was. If you mom decide to become their photographer then we won’t be able to take them away from your mom’s place” laughed Dina

“Totally!” said Jesse smiling but then he became serious again “but we shouldn’t have been so late”

“It’s fine, it was for a good cause, and Jennifer is quite sweet once you get to know her”

“Yeah, I see that she is very good to JJ, unlike Gabi, so happy she’s out of the picture”

“Yeah, I’m relieved too”

“Anyway, hope you guys are all ok”

“Yes, we are, do you want something, water, soda, juice?”

“No, I’m fine, see you next week. Say hi to Ellie”

“See you, say hi to Xyla,” said Dina and waited until he left to close the door. 

All in all, Dina had to admit that Jesse was a great guy, they had a good arrangement with JJ and he was willing to learn, which not many guys she had previously dated wanted to do. And he was friends with Ellie too. It was good he had found Xyla and they were a lovely family too.

Dina was about to go to her room when JJ invited her to watch a classic with them. She was unsure at first because although she missed JJ, she didn't know if Jennifer's taste in movies would be her thing but they both insisted so she said she would try. 

The movie was surprisingly sweet, a comedy about two teenagers pinning for the same girl, except that they become friends and the boy becomes a bit confused that his friend actually likes a girl and not him. It was quite a coincidence that the girl’s name was also Ellie. It was a surprisingly good movie and with a healthy message, despite how old it was. Once again she realized that Jennifer’s appearance was no indication of what taste she could have in these things. After the movie was over she realized it was about time so she excused herself and told them she had a meeting. JJ knew this and decided that this day it was fine to let their moms talk alone. JJ and Jennifer started playing video games immediately after she left. Dina went to her room and turned on her laptop. Ten minutes later Ellie and her were talking about different things.

“I have been thinking” said Dina at some point “I think the idea could work but we should probably discuss this once you are back. I think I would prefer to meet your lover in person and that you introduced me to her there, and just there” 

“So, I reckon no names yet”

“No, I think once you are back I might be ready to meet her and learn all about her there”

“Are you sure?” asked Ellie

“Yeah, I think I will be ready then and we can discuss together what all of this can imply but I think I will have to let you know how ready am I”

“Sure, I will definitely ask you, not like I am bringing her over for dinner without letting you know beforehand”

“That’s good, thank you” said Dina and for some reason felt adventurous and sent her a kiss with her hand.

“You know I miss you?” said Ellie smiling at her

“I miss you too” admitted Dina. _I do love this clown_

“So, when are you going to tell me about your new conquest?”

Dina laughed

“What makes you think I have one?”

“I think we know each other for a while already, I can tell”

“Ok, I have been going out, true, but I am not sure yet how permanent this one will be”

“So, it’s pretty new”

“Sort of, this one is very adventurous”

“Really, they let you use your strap on?”

“Yeah, actually just yesterday I did”

“Can you… tell me more?” said Ellie and she sounded like she was getting excited

“So…” Dina accommodated herself and continued “so I took her, because it’s a girl, I took her in her bedroom, and she moaned so loudly I think her neighbours will initiate a complaint soon.”

“And then?” Ellie started to sound more excited even.

"First I fucked her in the floor then I fucked her in the bed, she wanted more so I even took her from behind"

"You fucked hey in the ass?"

"I did, she screamed in pleasure, she loved it. I think it was her first time but she enjoyed it"

"It's you, she had no way not to" said Ellie panting.

"Then she kissed me, and gave me oral sex in her bed. Oh, I moaned so much. Then she put me against the wall and fucked me with her fingers" Dina kept talking while touching herself. Ellie was so horny, she was touching herself too.

"Did you like it?"

"I did" 

"How much?, show me" asked Ellie

"This much" then Dina touched herself even more and came.

Ellie came soon after that. 

They looked at each other in satisfaction and smiled.

"I have to send another thank you note to Dr. Ivanova" said Ellie

"Oh yes, she's great, what with all the fight she put about the importance of sexual people having the intimacy they needed even in space" 

"Yeah, I'm really happy to have that chance of doing this with you. Can't wait to be there and really touch you"

"Well, we have 15 more minutes, don't we?"

"Are you suggesting..?"

"I mean, it was only about me and my new lover, what about us? We could talk about us now"

"I like the idea. I love you Dina"

"I love you too, now take off that shirt" ordered Dina. Ellie obeyed gladly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I have no idea about these things. If there's an astronaut out there who loves TLoU and wants to write about Ellie being an astronaut that would be great


	8. Ellie

“So , another week and you will be back with us, kiddo”, said Joel, happily

“Yeah… oh! You know I found a good one, wanna hear it?”, said Ellie grinning to the image on the screen.

“Of course, hit it”, said Joel.

“I would tell you a chemistry joke but I wouldn’t get a reaction”, said Ellie and saw how Joel fighted the urge of putting his face in his palms.

“Oh… never change, Ellie”, said Joel laughing.

“Impossible! Hey, I have to go, one of my colleagues needs help in an experiment”

“Catch you later, in two days, right?”, said Joel and waved.

“Yes, bye!”, said Ellie. 

Joel might be a difficult person and sometimes he reacted too impulsive but she definitely loved her dad. Tess and he had adopted her when she was 10. Sadly Tess had suffered an accident at work and died, she made movie stunts and she was quite good at it. It was hard on both of them when she left them but in time Joel learned how to talk about loss too. It had taken them years to open up to each other but they had managed in the end. Then it all seemed like it was going to go to hell again when Ellie got the diagnosis of a brain tumor and Joel was so desperate. He was so afraid for her. Ellie had just the exact same problem that had killed Sarah, Joel’s daughter. It was too much. Perhaps that was why he had gone and punched that doctor when he saw that he was the one who would operate on Ellie. 

Ellie wondered if she would have met Abby had it not been for Joel punching and menacing that doctor. Maybe they could have met in happier circumstances then and they would not have had that fucked up story they had now. Despite all that, Abby now meant a lot to Ellie. She had not said it out loud or confessed it to anyone but she knew deep down she actually was falling in love with Abby and Abby had pretty much confessed the same. That had been the only reason why Ellie had decided to talk to Dina, whom she had loved for longer and whom she still loved a lot. It was strange to think in these terms, of being able to feel this for more than one person, contrary to what is always expected.

"Did you hear? Rebecca's experiment finally yielded the results she was looking for" said Riley

"That's awesome" replied Ellie

"Seriously Ellie, you still in the moon?"

"We're in space but not in the moon, you know this" 

"Ha ha ha, so funny. Ok, now what is it?"

"I'm fine"

"Well, better for sure, you were smiling like an idiot the whole day but what happened now"

"Well… Dina has a new lover"

"And?"

"Well, yesterday we were talking and we had, you know, videocall sex. It was intense. I loved it but… the way she spoke about this girl… it was also intense"

"And you are worried now?"

"Not really, it's just that I wonder if she's more relaxed about meeting Abby now that she has a new person in her life. I wonder if that's the reason why she was much happier yesterday"

"You still sound a bit worried. Like if you think you will end up being four people, not three" 

"Well… if we do agree to open this more, I guess there is a chance that could happen"

"Sounds busy"

"It does, doesn't it? I'm just wondering if I did the right thing by suggesting that"

"I guess you'll find out once we're back. But… if you really do invite Abby into your life like that. Shouldn't you let Joel know?"

"Oh dear" said Ellie and now she was indeed worried. 

Explaining this to Riley was hard, explaining this to Joel…. That was going to suck majorly. She felt like shit.

"Look, if you can, maybe write ideas and you run this with me and I'll give suggestions. You're calling him tomorrow, aren't you?"

"Yeah" said Ellie starting to panic "how the hell am I going to explain this to him?"

"Just breath, ok, you'll figure it out"

Ellie thought about it for hours and the following day she tried some ideas with Riley, luckily she was really patient. They ran different scenarios about how it could go and after discussing it more she felt she could really tell Joel. He had been very heartbroken when she had tried so hard to avenge him and almost lost Dina because of it. Joel loved Dina and JJ dearly and was happy that Ellie had a nice family. They had all gone through so much together.

Initially, in Ellie’s teenage years he had assumed, like most, that Ellie had a thing for Jesse and then was quite surprised when Cat came into the picture. In time he got used to it and respected her and never said anything terrible about them. However Ellie wondered if this poly situation would be too much for him. He was old after all, somehow accepting a lesbian couple with a kid, a couple that seemingly has a “normal family” was easier for a lot of people. It fitted the mould. The kind of relationship she had with Dina was a bit harder for many to understand. On top of that, she had gotten involved with Abby for fuck’s sake. The same woman that had almost killed Joel. The situation was less than ideal. So many things have passed since she had done that but Joel knew nothing about it. 

Many memories came to Ellie, including of that night she had sung in the karaoke.

Dina knew that Abby was there and had insisted to Ellie to seek therapeutic help, which in the end she did. Dina never went to the karate club, she was too busy with her job and her own hobbies, they liked to have their own sport activities and not be all the time all over each other. It was good for them and they trusted each other, they had their rules about their open relationship and liked some things to be separate. They would only attend when there was a big competition or something. Ellie had to admit that she loved seeing Dina compete and loved cheering for her. That night of the karaoke she had not been there though, and for some reason Abby had decided to go to the party despite never going to these events and having said she wouldn’t go.

Abby and Ellie’s rivalry had become infamous in the karate club. At some point during the night Abby had chosen an 1980’s song of obscure origin and given the microphone to Ellie.

 _Let’s see if you can pull this off_ , _Miller_ , Abby had said and Ellie hadn’t even doubted for one second and sang that perfectly. Abby could not have known that Joel loved those songs and she had practically grown up listening to them. She then chose a song of 1960, pressed the button and gave the microphone to Abby, _are you up to the challenge, Anderson?_. Abby had smiled deviously and taken the microphone and said _You are on_. They had continued until Abby had given her that song that Dina loved so much. Until that moment they had kept to the rock style but then this was something completely different. Abby probably thought that Ellie would not be able to pull it off. She was so wrong and her face showed how shocked she was when Ellie had sang that with all her heart. Right at that moment when she was singing and Abby’s face turned from shock to admiration and her lips parted she should have suspected something. Ellie herself felt a strange pull towards Abby, she felt how her eyes constantly diverted to Abby’s face and lips, they looked so plump. The tension between them after all that time had changed with their rivalry, this wasn’t about old debts anymore this was something else entirely. After Ellie finished Abby applauded before Ellie could choose another song. _You win, you definitely win_ , Abby had said. 

The following week she had found Abby drinking in the bar she normally went to. She had never seen Abby there before and decided to go to say hi. Abby had seemed reluctant first but then they started to tease each other again and Ellie ended up kissing her. After that they had exchanged phone numbers and a week later they were already fucking each other senseless at Abby’s. She had told Dina she was dating someone and had wanted to tell her the name but one of Dina’s rules was that she didn’t want to know the name of the person Ellie was dating or what they did, Ellie on the other hand had no problem knowing all that if Dina wanted to tell her. However much Ellie had insisted Dina did not want to change this rule. And now it seemed that they would have to make an exception for Abby. 

Suddenly explaining all these things to Joel seemed heavy again but she needed to try. Maybe she did not need to tell him all the details of how much she enjoyed sex with both women but he at least needed to know that Abby might be a more prominent figure in their lives soon.

"Hey Joel"

"Hey kiddo, how is the moon? Could you bring any cheese from there yet?"

"Sure Joel next time I'm there, I'll give you 3 tons or so" said Ellie and laughed instead of rolling her eyes as she normally did. Joel always came with the dumbest jokes.

"What's going on kiddo?"

"Why?'

"You normally don't laugh at my jokes so easily, everything's all right?"

Ellie sighed

"Yeah, I just… I need to tell you something"


	9. Abby

Abby was writing a review for a book she recently finished reading while Lev was listening to songs while finishing his homework in the living room. He had quite the eclectic taste in music but it still took her completely by surprise when _Ego_ by Indila started blasting from his speaker. Her heart raced when the memories of _that_ night came to her. 

_Le seul combat_

_Auquel je crois_

_C'est contre moi, moi, moi, moi, moi_

_Libère ton esprit_

_Écoute chanter le monde_

_Pourquoi passer sa vie_

_A courir après une ombre?_

_Juste une pâle copie_

_Une voix qui t'entraîne_

_Et petit à petit_

_Elle prend ton oxygène_

Abby had chosen a song that was catalogued as French pop and pop-folk, something completely different from the rock that seemed to be something both Ellie and herself knew way too well. She felt that she was going to win this time, that Ellie would be completely lost, or that she would not be able to sing past some verses or that at least she would make a fool of herself trying. To her complete astonishment Ellie had sang even better than before, she even put on a show and it seemed that she felt the song in her soul. Abby herself felt her body reacting to how Ellie dominated the atmosphere and the song masterfully. It felt like a challenge, like if Ellie was telling her Abby could not win because Ellie was not competing against her anymore. It was over and Abby had lost. Ellie’s short hair moving as she followed the rythm of the song, her mouth moving as she sang and her arms dancing as if she was performing live, all of it was mesmerizing. Then at the chorus she looked at Abby while she sang and slowly walked towards her, without missing a note and without a mistake in the lyrics. Abby felt herself become hot just looking at her doing that. It felt threatening but also inviting. She had to give it to her, she knew how to sing so Abby admitted defeat. Afterwards, she had looked at the lyrics of the song and their meaning and she was surprised to realize that Ellie had managed to convey the meaning of the song while she performed. She had indeed basically told her that Ellie only competed against herself and not others. Of course, Abby couldn’t know if Ellie meant to transmit that to her because Abby had been the one choosing the song.

A week after she had decided to finally try the bar Nora had told her about. Nora had lived there months ago and had told her that in that bar she could meet interesting people and that the vibe was nice. Abby was still sulking about her failed affair with Owen. They had been on and off for too long and eventually she had to end it. Mel was still for some reason forgiving him everything and would always take him back and instead of being angry at him would direct all her anger towards Abby. Although it was true that she shouldn’t have agreed to meet him as many times as she had, it had been hard for her to let go of Owen and they just somehow couldn’t help themselves. Whenever they saw each other they would end up in bed. It had already been a month since she had decided to end it for real but now she had no one to give her at least physical affection. She was thinking about these things when suddenly someone sat next to her.

"So", Ellie had said, "never seen you around here before". 

The smirk on Ellie’s face reminded Abby that she was trouble, she had always been trouble for Abby. She had almost decided to leave right there but Ellie started teasing her and somehow they fell back on their pretended rivalry that was no more. However Abby felt that things had changed and the more they teased each other the tenser the situation grew. Until Ellie became direct, extremely direct. 

"Seeing anyone, Anderson?", Ellie had asked

Abby had almost spit her drink. 

"Easy there, it’s just a question."

Abby had looked at her puzzled, "Just a question, Miller? That is a very private question", Abby had answered. 

"Ok, so let me answer it myself, I am actually married. To a woman, just to make it clear", Ellie had said. 

Abby had felt immediately disappointed. 

"Oh, good for you", Abby had replied and moved her attention back to her drink. 

"We are in an open relationship though", had said Ellie with intent. 

Abby had started coughing, the beer had gone in the wrong direction. 

"Wow, TMI?", Ellie had asked. Abby had looked at Ellie in shock. "Well, now you know, what do you want to do about that?", Ellie had asked then. 

Abby had felt her heart racing like crazy at that suggestion and at looking at how Ellie approached her. Ellie had come very close to her, to the point where if Abby moved a few inches she would have been able to kiss her. 

"So, are you seeing someone?", Ellie had asked again. Abby had felt her breathing accelerate but tried to keep her composure.

"I am single now but why are you asking me this?", Abby had asked while she had looked at Ellie’s eyes and then at her lips. 

"Because I am interested, Abby, are you?", Ellie had said and smiled. 

Hearing her call her by her name for the first time and in that tone had been too much. Abby had become speechless so she had nodded slightly and then Ellie had kissed her. 

She had never kissed a woman before. Nora had been sending her hints that she was interested for years but Abby had been losing her time with Owen and many times she had wondered if she would have been better had she chosen Nora instead. Now that all of the things with Ellie had happened she wondered if she would have ruined her friendship instead. Relationships were messy and sometimes people that get involved with each other end up in a terrible way, kinda like what had happened with Owen. But now she had Bunny, things were simpler with her, it was mostly about sex but she was getting to know her and she was having fun. It was good to keep things fun for a change.

“Everything alright?” asked Lev. 

He was looking at her from the door of the studio. She hadn’t noticed him standing there

“Yes, why, what happened?” asked Abby.

“You stopped typing suddenly and when I came to look you seemed distressed, you have been looking like that for a while now” said Lev

“Oh, right, the review, thanks for reminding me, I need to keep typing” said Abby and went back to it. Lev stayed there for a while, looking worried but then he left.

Sometimes Abby felt she was not really up to the challenge of raising two kids but she also knew that her life would not be the same without them. When her uncle had disappeared years ago after getting married to that woman of the cult they had lost any hope of finding him because that cult was already too powerful. Then the police had contacted them about the case and of a potential case of homicide in the cult. They had feared for him and sadly they later found his body. Then the police had told them about the kids he had had. Abby had talked with her family and no one wanted to deal with that cult, they were afraid of it. It was his dad’s brother’s only kids, she couldn’t let it go. So Abby had gone all alone to try and talk to the woman about at least being able to talk to them, to meet them. The woman had screamed at her and even threatened her with a knife. She had stayed one more day in that town, trying to plan what to do. The following day she visited again and saw that the house seemed empty and immediately she felt something was odd. Behind the house there was a forest and a clift and she went there following a trail of footprints and things thrown on the way. She found the woman with two kids, one girl with braided hair and one boy with his head all shaved, and the woman was trying to kill the boy. She went to them and tried to separate the woman from the boy. When she managed to do that, the woman released herself from her grasp and yelled at the boy, I will not suffer this abomination!, and threw herself from the cliff. The kids were clearly traumatized and the inquiry took months but in the end Abby was the only close family the kids had left. The cult managed to shift all the blame to the woman, even blaming her for the death of her husband but Abby knew that wasn't true. Still, she was happy enough the kids were free from that place. It took them all a lot of therapy to get them to trust Abby, or any adult for that matter.

Sadly, that had not been easy, especially because after a while Lev started hero worshiping Abby. It all came crashing down once she met Ellie again at that karate club and Ellie followed her to the car and pushed her to an alley and they fought. Abby was surprised at how fast Ellie was and despite being bigger and stronger Ellie had managed to beat her. She thought she would get what she deserved but then she heard Lev yelling her name. She had forgotten that they were going to go by her club on their bikes and they would go back home in her car. Ellie’s rage and focus evaporated when she saw the kids. She looked at Abby, then at the kids and shook her head. She looked down and left. Lev had tried to stop her and Yara was already calling the police when Abby managed to stand and asked them not to do that. The kids were confused but Abby told them Ellie had the right to do what she did, she had almost killed Ellie’s dad after all. Lev’s face had fallen and she could see his idea of Abby was shattered after that. Ellie had told them _Sometimes people we love do fucked up shit, get used to it, kids_ , and she had left. It had taken even more therapy and time for Lev to begin to trust her again. Yara had been more understanding but then again she had never idolized Abby.

It had been difficult to explain to them when Ellie and her started dating. Lev was apprehensive but in time they got used to each other. Yara even had a good relationship with Ellie. Said she was kind and attentive. 

_Focus_ , thought Abby and miraculously managed to finish the review and send it. She sighted. Being a book critic was more work than she expected but she really loved her work. She was checking her calendar to see which would be her next book to review when her phone rang. She looked at it and sighed.

Owen.

“Hi”, she answered dryly, waiting for another screaming match with Mel.

“Hi, Abby”, it was indeed Owen, not Mel, this time, “I just want to apologize, I saw just now by chance my call log and realized someone called you using my phone so I went to Mel and well... We had a fight but I think what she did was wrong, she shouldn’t have tricked you like that”

“It’s ok”, Abby wanted to end this soon. She did not know if it was actually worse that it was Owen the one talking to her or Mel. She probably shouldn’t be speaking with him either.

“No, it is not ok, she didn’t tell me much but I reckon she was terrible with you, she seemed a bit ashamed so..:”

“Owen, it’s fine, let’s just stop talking, ok? We already said this isn’t working”, said Abby

“But… Abby…You don’t deserve being mistreated like that, we already told her everything, she just-”

“It’s fine, you guys go and sort your things, you need to get your priorities right”, interrupted Abby

“Abby, I miss you”, said Owen

Abby closed her eyes and put a hand on her forehead. She didn’t want to do this anymore. She was tired of all the coming and going. This had to stop.

“I miss you too”, Abby answered honestly, “but more than anything I miss being friends with you, I do not want to be with you in that way anymore”

“Oh… I can understand and respect that”, answered Owen but he sounded hurt.

“Can you?”, said Abby, trying to hide her need to cry.

“Yeah, I mean… you said it already before, that we should stop but the truth is I still want you in that way…”, said Owen.

Abby sighed. It was good they were speaking by the phone this time and not face to face, so he could not see how red she was now. She didn’t love him anymore in that way but sometimes the memories and the solitude could be too much and she was sure that had she been in the same room with him when he said that, she would have ended fucking him again. 

“Then… in that case maybe we need to be apart for longer, I can’t be with you anymore, not like that. Maybe later, at some point when we both don’t feel like that anymore, we can talk again but for now… you have Mel and the kid you are expecting, you guys need to decide what to do. I can’t be a part of that family, Mel told you already she doesn’t agree”

“But we can convince her”, insisted Owen

“No, we can’t, you know this and besides”, Abby sighed and tried to be brave. _It is time, he needs to know_. “I have met someone”

 _I have met two people actually but he doesn’t need to know that_ , thought Abby.

“Oh”, said Owen and Abby knew he was hurt.

“Look… I wish things had gone differently, and that I had not done… _that_ but I did and well, here we are. I think we both need to move on”, said Abby.

“Yeah… you are probably right. Sorry for bothering you”, said Owen

“No, please don’t say that”, asked Abby.

“No, it’s ok”, said Owen and he sounded as if he was about to cry.

“I’m sorry”, said Abby

“No, don’t apologize, it’s fine, you deserve to be happy, you know that, right? You deserve it. I hope this guy is good to you”

“It’s actually a girl”, said Abby, feeling slightly fearful for some reason. 

“Oh.. I didn’t know… but I hope she is good then.”, Owen corrected and Abby felt relieved. He wasn’t judging her. “Well, goodbye Abby”

“Goodbye, Owen”, said Abby and then hung up.

She sighed and felt exhausted. Although she was relieved, she cried a bit, that goodbye had felt very final but maybe they both needed that or at least they needed distance for some time. Now she had no close friends nearby. Not a single one. However, she had no time to dwell on her loneliness because Lev came to her running. He looked pale.

“What happened?” asked Abby.

“I think there is something wrong with Yara’s meeting” said Lev

“What do you mean?” said Abby

“Whenever either of us will meet a former cult member, we have a series of messages that we send each other and if all goes well, she should be meeting them in public places only. If not she will send me her location. She just sent me her location, they are not in a public space” explained Lev

Abby turned down her computer and stood up. “Where are they”

“They seem to be going to this company, Eugene”

“The electricity company?”

“Yes”

“Fuck, let’s go”

On her way to the car Abby received a message. It was Bunny. She gave the phone to Lev.

“Just tell her we can’t meet today”

Lev nodded and started writing. Abby was way too distracted with driving and being worried about Yara but then she noticed Lev was still chatting with her phone minutes later.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing” he lied, badly. 

Abby sighed, she had no time for this and if Bunny would be scared by her kid’s meddling then so be it. There were far more important things to do now.

When they reached the building it was closed and they discussed with the guard for what felt like hours. Lev’s phone was showing him that Yara was going up the stairs inside that building. But the guard didn’t care even when they tried to explain to him. Abby was getting desperate and was thinking of just beating him up when they heard someone approaching.

“Yo, let us in” yelled a known voice.

“Dr., I didn’t know you knew these people” apologized the guard.

“It’s fine, Jon” said Bunny “just let us in fast”

“As you wish, my apologies”, and he opened the door.

“How? What are you doing here?” asked Abby

Bunny looked confused but then she saw that Lev still had Abby’s phone in his hands. Understanding dawned on her but she continued walking and taking them to the elevator. Abby looked at Lev, slightly irritated.

“We need all the help we can get” replied Lev

“He’s right” said Bunny

Abby let it slide, they were in a rush anyway. They went to the elevator and Lev indicated that it seemed Yara was on the last floor.

“So, you are some sort of big shot here?”, asked Abby.

“It would have made for a nice combo, hotshot and big shot, don’t you think?” said Bunny, smiling slightly.

Lev stared at her then at Abby. “You deserve each other”

“Shut up”, said Abby.

When they arrived on the last floor they saw they needed to climb the stairs to reach the terrace. They did so quietly because they knew the cult people might be there with Yara. They opened the door and saw a young girl observing two men and two women grabbing Yara against the floor and about to break one arm with a hammer, the other arm already looked broken. 

Abby lost it, and ran to them. She pushed one against the other and punched the other two. Lev was fighting against the girl and soon overpowered her. One of the guys fought more strongly against Abby and suddenly they were fighting way too close to the border and Abby felt she was going to vomit from fear but she tried to hold it and pushed back. Lev came to help her and pushed the guy back even more and Abby punched him in the face and he stopped moving. Bunny was calling the police and the guards. It seemed all of the members of the cult were down so Abby went to Yara. She was in pain and her arm looked badly hurt. 

Abby looked at Bunny to ask her if she had called the ambulance when she saw that a big woman was behind Bunny but she was too far away and the woman took Bunny. Time seemed to stop and Abby rose to try and get to her but something unexpected happened. Bunny hit the woman in the foot and then threw her over her shoulder, then she went on top of her and put her in a lock. Had it not been for the fact that Abby was now preoccupied with Yara, she would have kissed Bunny right there, she looked so ferocious and just fucking hot. 

The guards came and then the police and somehow even the press. Bunny managed to escape them. Abby felt slightly bad she had not had time to thank her but she was now busy with Yara and taking her to the ambulance. 

They went to the hospital and after a while someone patted her in the back. Abby turned around and to her surprise saw that it was Bunny. She said that she had been busy with the police, telling them what had happened and that surely soon a detective would contact Abby and ask her what happened. Since Bunny worked in that company she had assured the detective they would collaborate and give all the evidence they needed. Abby mostly nodded when Bunny was talking since she was still worried about Yara and the doctors weren’t telling her anything yet.

Time passed and they waited and waited. Then a doctor came and talked to Abby, Lev and Bunny. Luckily they managed to save Yara’s arm and she would eventually recover. Abby was so thankful. Lev hugged Bunny and said he would be forever in her debt. Bunny shook her head and said they would have done the same for her. 

“You are definitely full of surprises. I will never be able to thank you enough” said Abby to her.

“I can think of a way or two” whispered Bunny and hugged her

“Really, would that be enough?”, said Abby, incredulous.

“I am easy to please”, said Bunny and shrugged.

Abby kissed her. Fuck! She loved this girl. But she also loved Ellie.


	10. Ellie

Her mission was finally over and she was going home. Dina and JJ received her with a small party. Only Dina, Jesse, Xyla, JJ and Jennifer. Two days later Dina told her how her time had passed and they set the date for the meeting for Saturday night. She was nervous but Abby had sounded excited when they spoke. She had also said that there was something she needed to discuss with Ellie and that had sounded ominous.

Ellie was nervous but she felt prepared. She had talked with Joel more than once about what was happening and he ended up being more accepting than she had expected. He truly loved her and even when he struggled he really tried to do the job and learn about poly relationships more. It was endearing. If her old man could do the job Ellie could too. She could do this.

Dina seemed more relaxed too. Said she had stuff to tell her but she wanted to meet this girl first. Because it was the weekend JJ had gone to Jesse’s. They were preparing the table when they heard the doorbell ringing. They looked at each other and Dina smiled encouragingly.

“Go get her” Dina said.

Ellie sighed and she went to open the door. Abby was looking radiant but also nervous. 

“Hi” she spoke in a low voice and hugged Ellie “happy to see you, I brought this”

She showed two homemade beers from a nearby brewery. Oh well, she couldn’t know beer was not a thing for Dina. She didn’t even know her name. 

“Happy to see you too” then she kissed Abby briefly and said “So, let’s go”

Ellie took the beers in her hands and directed Abby to the living room.

“Here goes nothing” said Abby and bit her lips.

Dina was just putting some snacks on the table so she was giving her back to them when they entered. She then turned around and smiled then her face became alarmed when she saw Abby. Ellie felt Abby tensing next to her.

“Hotshot?” said Dina

“Bunny?” said Abby

“What the fuck?” said Ellie.

“You, you are married to Ellie?” said Abby in surprise and sounding mildly annoyed. 

This was not going well.

“You never told me you were dating someone else so what are you complaining about?” said Dina defensively, putting her hands in her hips.

“You know each other? Dina, you knew Abby?” asked Ellie, it was obvious they did but she wanted confirmation. 

“Abby?” Dina’s eyes opened even more and she went to grab the bottle of wine, she opened it and drank a gulp directly from the bottle “So, you are THE Abby, you?”

Abby only opened her mouth in surprise and looked at Ellie and she started looking angry.

“This is a game, isn’t it? You must have had quite a lot of fun” said Abby sounding hurt.

“Abby, this no game, you know that Dina didn’t want to know the name of the people I dated, and you never wanted to know her name either, what was I supposed to do?” asked Ellie exasperated.

“I don’t know, tell me something? Give me a warning” said Abby opening her arms in irritation.

“You did not even let me show you a picture” said Ellie and then looked at Dina “neither did you! And now turns out you knew each other anyway! Do you care to explain this to me?”

Dina looked at Abby and Abby looked at Dina. The sexual tension could be felt from a mile. Suddenly a piece fell into place in Ellie’s mind.

“Wait a minute… you were dating her?” asked Ellie to Dina, “this is the girl you were starting to like a lot?”

Abby seemed disturbed by that comment, she looked at Ellie confused and then at Dina’s face, as if searching for confirmation.

Dina drank another gulp of wine and nodded, all while looking at Abby in the eyes. Abby sighed but she seemed to calm a little bit. She took a beer from Ellie’s hand, took a beer opener from her pocket, opened the beer and went to the table. She took a long drink and then spoke.

“Ok, we are here to talk, so, let’s do that”, said Abby, sounding determined. 

“Fine. Let’s do this in order” said Dina and sat “You, how did you two started?”

Ellie went to the table, put the beer in front of her and sat. She also opened it with the beer opener that was on the table and drank from the bottle. It seemed that that was what they were doing now. 

“You know about how we first met, in that alley” said Ellie and she saw how uncomfortable that was making Abby but there was no way around it “then how I looked for her years later and nothing. Then that she joined the karate club and that I beat her up”

Dina nodded and drank more.

“Well, you also know that I let her go when the kids came”

Dina’s eyes seemed to shine in recognition of something. 

“Wait, were those Lev and Yara?” said Dina and looked at Abby

Abby nodded.

“You know them? Wow, can’t wait to hear your story” said Ellie but Dina was staring at her seriously so Ellie continued “Anyway, after that I decided that I had to let it go. I looked for help, you know this, then a week after that Abby was back at the club. She said it was because she liked the style”

“It was convenient because of my kids and their activities and I did like the style” added Abby “I was not aiming at annoying Ellie”

“We started having some sort of rivalry” continued Ellie, “and then somehow that rivalry became something else”

“You were competing against each other” guessed Dina. 

Was she suppressing a smile? Abby nodded and it seemed she was also trying to not smile.

“It did start as competition, but again I lost terribly when we went to a karaoke night with the club” said Abby “we were challenging each other with rock music classics and then I tried to change the style and made her sing a french pop oldie, I thought that was it, she would make a total fool of herself but no, she sang it as if she had written it herself”

Dina looked at Ellie with curious eyes and then asked “Ego?”

“Yup” said Ellie

Dina smiled truthfully this time. It warmed Ellie’s heart. It gave her hope that this was not going to end in a total disaster. 

“You had no chance” said Dina to Abby, smirking “that is one of my favourite songs from my favourite singer. Ellie knows her lyrics by heart”

“I see” said Abby and tilted her head, pensively and then smiled a little.

“Anyway, after that, I noticed that something changed, and then a week after that I saw Abby in Jenny's bar, I was surprised. So I went to her and somehow we started chatting and I realized that I also felt attracted to her so I told her I am in an open relationship and I kissed her”

“Wow, so bold” said Dina, teasingly to Ellie, then she looked at Abby “so you knew, you were ok with this?”

“I was at the beginning. Ellie was always honest and I thought the deal was fine by me but then I started noticing I was feeling I needed more, so I told her” confessed Abby.

“And that brings us to this day,” said Ellie and drank a bit more “Now, you two, speak”

Dina and Abby looked at each other and it seemed they agreed on something.

“I was devastated after you decided to open our relationship even more, to allow a third person to be as important as we are to each other. I felt like I should have never even presented the idea to have an open marriage to you but that it was done and that we might not survive this.” said Dina and drank a bit more before continuing “I knew I loved you, but this idea seemed like too much. Then you were gone so instead of staying here alone on the weekend I decided, let’s try that new bar two blocks from here. And lo and behold, here I see this totally gorgeous girl here”

Abby smiled and looked down, her cheeks reddening. “From all of us, definitely the queen of beauty here is you”

_Damn, that was corny_ , thought Ellie, feeling secondhand embarrassment and drank some more.

“Don’t fight me on this one, hotshot, this is my turn to talk”, said Dina.

Abby raised her hands in defeat and Dina continued.

“I asked her name, but no, she was in no mood to tell me. I mean, now I know why, I think she even called me satan” said Dina, laughing.

“You did what?” asked Ellie, this story was something else.

“Ok, I did say _not today, satan_ ” said Abby, who are that moment was totally red “but I was just worried, beautiful girls coming onto me had been just trouble for me lately”

“Anyway, that didn’t deter me and I insisted but she was relentless, she did not want to give me her name, instead she challenged me. No one had been able to win her at the darts but she challenged me, that if I won I could know her name”

“And you lost” guessed Ellie

“By a long shot” added Abby

“Careful, hotshot, another interruption and my aim might improve” said Dina playfully, pretending she was going to throw her bottle at Abby.

Abby smiled and put a hand in her mouth.

“So, after that” Dina continued “I noticed she really liked to compete so I thought that way I could pique her curiosity, so I challenged her to dance and the prize would be my name, you can imagine what happened.”

“You tried”, said Ellie, raising her bottle to Abby who shrugged and smiled sadly.

“Then I challenged her to a laser tag, where I almost, almost won but I didn’t in the end so… I challenged her to a race” said Dina

“That is just cruel”, said Ellie.

Dina shrugged “I won so she had to pick a nickname and we have been going by nicknames ever since.”

“Wait, so you called her hotshot because of her aim” said Ellie looking at Dina. Dina nodded and then Ellie looked at Abby, who seemed suddenly very interested in the beer label “and you, why did you named her Bunny?”

Dina put her elbow on the table, tilted her head and rested it on her hand. She waited for Abby’s reply but she was smiling. She knew already.

“Is it because she is a runner?” asked Ellie.

Abby made an awkward grimace and nodded. 

“And you think my sense of humor is silly? You know what?, you have no shame” said Ellie.

“She liked it!” protested Abby.

Ellie looked at Dina, who nodded. 

“I actually did” Dina confessed, “what?, I thought it was cute”

“So… you guys meet, never tell each other your own names and somehow get super involved regardless, how?” asked Ellie.

“It just happened” said Abby “suddenly this gorgeous girl is in my life, she is repairing my dad’s clock, she is going out with me, she is easy going, beautiful, smart, what was I to do? And on top of that she is awesome with kids, she even helped me rescue Yara”

“Wait, what happened to Yara?” asked Ellie, suddenly worried. 

Abby sighed. “You know the cult… it seemed they were punishing all the kids who escaped. So one of them lured Yara with the pretense that she had also escaped the cult and wanted to be friends, needed help getting used to the outside world and all that. Luckily Lev and Yara had this sistem where they would message each other if something was weird and she sent him her location. The kidnapers were stupid enough not to throw away her phone or her watch and so we knew where they were. But we couldn’t go in. It was in the Eugene building.”

Ellie was surprised how much of a coincidence it was that it was just where Dina worked.

“We were supposed to meet so I wrote to ask if she wanted curry or sushi, but then I got this desperate message about Yara and how she was kidnapped and was probably in mortal danger. It didn’t sound like Hotshot at all but then the message mentioned where they were going with Lev. So I went there too” said Dina.

“I was so shocked when I saw Bunny there and especially after they were all licking her boots in there. She was surely someone of importance there but we had no time to ask much about it. We barely saved Yara but without Bunny, I mean Dina, Yara would have died” Abby looked at Dina with such devotion Ellie realized how both of them felt about each other.

“Turns out, there were two members of Eugene that belonged to the cult and they were allowing this, they had planned a series of sacrifices. They wanted to cut former cult members and hang them from many buildings, as a warning. Luckily they got caught and we ruined their plans” said Dina, “You should have seen Abby here, she got rid of four huge thugs who were hurting Yara, a total unit this one”

“You should have seen her” said Abby pointing at Dina, “a huge one got her from behind and she just threw her to the floor like if she was a sack of potatoes and then got her in a lock, I have never seen someone so small deal with another that size with such quickness. So fucking hot”

“We used to train together Dina and I” said Ellie smugly “then she noticed she preferred running”

“We spar sometimes” said Dina shrugging as if it wasn’t such a big deal, “and what about Lev?, he took that girl, and she was bigger than him, I can see you trained him well”

Abby shook her head. “It’s all his doing, he likes self defense and archery. But you were amazing, for real, I honestly don’t think we could have made it without you”

Dina smiled drunkenly. “You know, I am starting to feel dizzy, what if we start with the food?”

They all agreed and they brought the food and ate. 

“So…” asked Ellie after they had eaten, “How are we doing this? Are you guys still up to it?”

Abby and Dina looked at each other. There was still sexual tension and Ellie remembered how Dina had recounted what she had done to Abby and what Abby had done to her and she started to feel hot herself. She drank cool water to try and remain calm. Dina had brought more beer and wine and Abby was still drinking but Ellie felt she needed her head to work to continue this.

“I am” said both of them at the same time, then smiled shyly.

“Can I be honest? I still find it hard to believe I managed to date both of you” admitted Abby

“Believe me, I was not planning this”, said Dina

“I know, no one would have gone through so much trouble for a bet or a prank” said Abby

“No chance in hell” said Dina

“So.. we are in agreement that we all care for each other” said Ellie, tentatively.

“Yes” replied Abby, firmly.

Dina nodded. “We are, aren’t we” she said, “I guess it is quite convenient in a way”

“What do you mean?” asked Abby confused

“That we all already like each other”

Abby drank some more “I wouldn’t say _like_ , that sounds like little” and she looked at Ellie and Dina defiantly.

Ellie felt that she was getting hot again. Yes, she realized that her feelings for Abby were more than those of a passing lover, she was more to her but she had never said it out loud. She had also noticed how Dina was starting to have feelings for her mysterious lover that had turned out to be Abby. Right then, Dina looked at Abby as if she wanted to eat her. 

“Fine, hotshot, I do feel more for you than that. I wanted to tell you about my arrangement with Ellie and it is true that I was more open to Ellie’s proposal because I realized I loved Ellie while I started to develop stronger feelings for you. So I knew this was possible” said Dina, encouraged by the wine.

_What is going on?_ , thought Ellie. Abby and Dina stared at each other with such intensity Ellie felt she was lacking air but then they both turned to look at her.

_Oh dear_ , she thought and grabbed more beer. She drank and sighed. _I can do this_.

“Dina, I love you. Abby, I…” Ellie swallowed “I love you too” 

There, it was out. She drank more beer and looked down. She breathed in and out then looked at them. They were looking at her. They both went to her at the same time and grabbed her hands. 

Ellie rose and they took her to the bedroom. Dina kissed her “I love you too”, she whispered to Ellie’s ear and kissed her in the neck. Then Abby kissed her and also said she loved her. Abby took Ellie’s clothes and Ellie helped Dina take her clothes while Dina removed Abby’s. Dina fingered Ellie while Abby fingered Dina. When they both came, Dina turned to Abby and Abby kissed her deeply. Ellie heard them whispering how much they loved each other and then Dina went down on Abby. So Ellie went to kiss Abby and Abby put her hand inside Ellie. They took turns giving each other oral sex and kissing and making each other come. It was not planned, it was messy, it was two hands in Ellie's vulva, one inside her and the other in her clit; it was a tongue in each of Abby's nipples, making her moan and almost tear the sheets apart; it was a mouth on each side of Dina's neck, going from her ears down her neck and kissing her. At times they got confused, at times they were not as coordinated but the three of them were so into it that they didn’t care.

When she woke up she saw that she was in the middle of them, Abby with her head by her side while Dina had her head in Ellie’s stomach. 

Dina had been hinting at her curiosity about a threesome for a while but Ellie had never thought that mixing their lovers would be a good idea. Who knew it could turn out to be this good?

When they had agreed to talk about letting another person become a more important figure in their lives this had not been what she had in mind and she felt it would probably complicate things but she was sure as hell she wanted to try this.


	11. Dina

She was not sure when exactly she started feeling more for Hotshot - AKA Abby. Already when she met her she had felt an electrifying current on their competition night but she had not wanted to really let herself feel anything romantic so she tried to just keep it fun. Despite that, Abby did grow into her, she was so corny sometimes, so dorky and she was also so competitive. But it had been seeing her with her kids that had done it. She was so attentive, she would prioritize them no matter what and Dina could see that they loved her. She was all thought and distant but with them she was pure softness. That made her so endearing to Dina.

Still, she tried to just have fun. She never said to the girl she even liked her but she felt Abby was also starting to develop more feelings for her and she herself couldn’t stop getting more and more attracted to her. Abby was so muscular, so beautiful, her lips were so soft and she was such an attentive lover, she couldn’t help herself. Then that night when Yara had been in danger she noticed she was completely into this girl. She had to help her save her kid. Fuck, if JJ had been in trouble she would have wanted someone as strong as Abby by her side. 

Luckily they had managed to save her. Yara would not lose her arm after all and in time she could use it again. The investigation took weeks but they moved faster because someone had leaked this to the press and the names of those involved in trying to sacrifice kids was also leaked. Soon after that Ellie arrived and she had the revelation of her life. Turns out Hotshot was Abby, the Abby that Ellie had been pursuing years before in an attempt to avengue Joel. She was not what Dina had in mind. A book critic with two lovely kids she had to adopt from a deranged aunt that had almost killed them only because Lev was trans. This was not the thug she had imagined, this was a real human, a good person she had even fallen in love with. After all the talk and all the wine they ended up all in bed. But it was not all solved, they had to talk more and they did, this time without alcohol. They laughed, they cried, they fought but slowly they reached a couple of agreements. 

They decided to try and be all three together but that they may not need to date anyone else for a while, maybe not anymore. In time they would decide. For the time being the three of them together was more than enough work even though they were indeed compatible. Very compatible. They ended up deciding to leave the option open for the future. For now they were enjoying each other’s company, not only for sex although the sex among the three was very exciting for all of them, messy and all. They also enjoyed being together for movies and for preparing dinner or even playing videogames. They were mostly seeing each other either at Abby’s or on the weekends at Ellie’s and Dina’s home. At some point they needed to introduce Abby to JJ and have a more formal meeting with Yara and Lev but for now they were still thinking how to go around doing that.

One saturday afternoon they were sitting on the couch about to watch a movie together when Abby’s phone rang and she looked as surprised as that time they had gone by boat. Dina wondered if this was the same person that had briefly dampened her mood that time. Abby bit her lip and looked at her phone undecided and worried. Ellie stood up and went behind her. After seeing the name of the person who was calling she gave a kiss to Abby’s cheek.

“You know what you should do?”, said Ellie to Abby and then she murmured something to Abby’s ear.

“I’m not doing that”, said Abby.

“Well, you should”, said Ellie and went to their room.

Abby shook her head and continued watching her phone that eventually stopped ringing and she sighed. She was about to put it in her pocket when it started sounding again. Abby almost jumped. By the way she was looking at it, it was probably the same person.

“Is everything alright?”, asked Dina.

Abby looked at her and was about to nod but then seemed to decide against it.

“Yeah… No, it’s complicated”, said Abby.

“Ok, take your time”, said Dina and put a hand in Abby’s leg.

Abby looked at her hand there and placed a hand on top and held Dina’s hand. It seemed to relax her.

“I probably should tell you… It’s an ex”, confessed Abby.

“Oh, is this person annoying you often?”, asked Dina.

“Well, Owen and I… we dated for years but then the Joel incident happened… most of my friends were shocked about what I did, even though they helped me a lot. We drifted apart and then he started dating another friend. Then I moved here and most of my friends moved away from here, everyone was far away and he somehow got a job near here and we started talking again and then… well, we ended up fucking…”

“I guess this happened more than once?”, asked Dina

“Yeah, it did. I know that it was because we cared about each other and we loved each other for years but I think the nostalgia was a greater pull. I was so alone here, it was so heavy dealing with Yara and Lev and their difficulties… I needed a friend, I wanted company and he was there… I am not trying to excuse myself, just trying to make you understand why it happened, or why I think it happened.. Honestly talking about it I know it sounds..”

“Hey, it’s ok, we all mess up sometimes, don’t worry”, said Dina and put a hand in Abby’s back.

Abby smiled at her and seemed thankful.

“Anyway, we kept it on and off like that for very long then one day I told him we should stop and talk to Mel. He had been telling me he wanted to talk to Mel for months and trying to figure out a way but he didn’t know how. So he did and Mel was furious. Said she never expected much of me but what he did was the worst. So we decided to stop talking.”

“But then he calls you on that day we went rowing?”, asked Dina.

Abby scoffed.

“The weird thing was, it was from his number but it was Mel talking. She was annoyed at finding my number under a funny name and suspected we were talking again and called to tell me to fuck off basically”, said Abby

“Sounds like they have issues to solve but you have not talked to him”, said Dina

“No, I haven’t, she called me because they have problems and she thinks I am the reason, and the thing is I miss her friendship too but I know there is no way to recover it, it was already bad after what I did to Joel but then I messed it all up when I slept with Owen. On top of that she was expecting a child from him, maybe the kid is already here, I don’t know”, said Abby. She sounded defeated, it looked like Mel meant something to her even though it had gone all wrong.

“Well, you shouldn’t blame yourself for all, he wanted you too, it’s not like you pointed a gun at him and told him to get naked”, commented Dina.

“True… but I guess Mel sees me as the biggest problem”, Abby lowered her head and then said in a lower voice, “she thinks I’m a piece of shit and a bad influence for the kids”

“No, that’s just nuts, you are great with your kids, they love you and you love them, you’ll do anything for them, you even fought these guys on top of a building, fighting against your fear of heights and all. Whatever history you have with Mel and Owen, your kids have nothing to do with that”, insisted Dina

“Yeah, I actually agree”, said Abby, looking up, “anyway, the other day Owen called, this time it was him. He insisted again to try and be together, that he missed me and all that. I told him it couldn’t be, that I had met someone… I had met Ellie and you but I didn’t really feel like telling him that just yet”

“It’s understandable”, conceded Dina.

“Yeah, he wasn’t happy about it, he sounded very sad but I told him we need to stop seeing or talking to each other for a while, that we both need to move on, that maybe later we can be friends again but not now. This was the day Yara was kidnapped, so now I don’t know why he is calling. Maybe it’s not even him, maybe it’s Mel again”, said Abby.

“So, let me guess, Ellie asked you to block that bitch’s number”, asked Dina.

“Exactly, in those words”, said Ellie, coming from the kitchen with recently made drinks. She gave a drink to Dina and one to Abby and then she took one herself and drank. “You should definitely block them both”

“Maybe he needs help with something”, said Abby, reluctantly.

“With what, with his cock?”, ask Ellie.

Abby hitted Ellie in the arm but without much force.

“Auch! It’s true, maybe with that or with his head, he doesn’t deserve your time, he’s an ass”, said Ellie, indignantly “Has she told you how he made her climb a mountain twice, without the proper equipment!”

“What?”, now Dina was angry at him “I would have been afraid of doing that and that is not even my phobia. Was he trying to murder you?”

“Ok, he was just trying to help me overcome my fear”, said Abby

“That little bitch was gaslighting you! Why are you still defending him?”, said Ellie.

“You don’t understand, he was with me for so long, there’s many memories and he was there for me when my dad died, he was a friend for so long and he was my first in many things, it’s just hard to let go”, said Abby.

Dina and Ellie looked at each other. Ellie was about to talk but Dina raised her hand, stopping her. Ellie could be too harsh and Abby seemed like she needed a gentler approach now.

“For the record, neither of us was the first of the other”, said Dina and pointed at Ellie and herself, “and despite that we still mean a lot to each other”

Dina looked at Ellie and Ellie nodded.

“Just because you sleep with someone for the first time, doesn’t mean the person is branding you or that they own you, and you can still have meaningful relationships with others later in life”, said Dina.

“I know”, said Abby, looking at her hand while she was holding them in front of her. “I just… sometimes I felt very lonely, even at the club it was hard hitting off with people there, most liked Ellie and realized of our rivalry and just avoided me for a while. Now they are opening up but I just don’t have any closer friends here now”

“Well, you have us”, said Ellie and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Yeah, but I still think I need friends apart from the people I end up sleeping with, you know?”, admitted Abby.

“I know, maybe I can introduce you to some people on my running team, they don’t know your history and you can make a fresh start”, said Dina.

“Thanks, I don’t think I can become a runner but I am open to meeting new people”, said Abby and looked at her. Then she looked at Ellie, “Thank you too, both of you, for listening”

Dina and Ellie went to hug her and that seemed to lift her mood considerably.

Then her phone beeped and Abby checked it again. Her eyes widened then she blinked.

“Wow, the baby was born today, he just wanted to let me know”, then Abby started texting.

“What are you-” Ellie started saying but Dina shook her head. “But…”

Dina grabbed Ellie’s hand and took her a bit farther away.

“You need to respect her decisions, whether you like them or not”, whispered Dina to Ellie.

“But that guy is clearly manipulating her, he agrees to stop talking, then suddenly the girlfriend finds out and stirs up drama, then he calls again and she has to end it AGAIN with him, then now when they apparently agree to stop talking he writes again”, whispered Ellie exasperated.

“Relationships can be messy, you know this, she needs space to deal with this, she’s an adult, we don’t want to overwhelm her and force her to make decisions according to what we want, ok?” said Dina.

Ellie sighed.

“I guess you are right but I really want to punch that dude”, said Ellie.

“You can’t just go around punching people you dislike”, said Dina

“Sadly”, noted Ellie.

They went back and sat next to Abby. 

“So”, started Ellie, trying to sound like she wasn’t annoyed and failing miserably.

“He just.. sent me some pictures”, said Abby. Dina went closer to see the phone and Ellie did the same reluctantly.

“See, the baby looks like him, it’s a girl”

“Poor thing, luckily baby faces change a lot”, commented Ellie.

Dina hit her knee.

“What?, it’s not my fault the guy has a very punchable face”, said Ellie

Abby just stared at her, shook her head and then continued showing the pictures. As much as Dina wanted to punch the guy’s face she had to admit he looked very happy with his kid. She hoped he would be too busy now to bother Abby for a while at least. She needed a break.

Abby turned off the phone screen and said “He said he wanted to just let me know and then send me these, but he did not want to bother me much, just to let me know and that he would leave me alone after that”

Ellie showed amazing restraint and just grabbed her drink and finished it. 

“Ok, I hope he keeps his promise this time”, commented Dina.

Ellie almost choked on her drink. 

“I said I hope he does, it’s not bad to wish for good things”, said Dina. _Even if it is unlikely to happen, I just hope Abby will be able to rely on us instead of falling for his tactics again_ , thought Dina. Owen might not be an entirely shitty person but for now the relationship with Abby was too toxic, maybe in time they would recover their friendship but Abby was right and they needed time apart.

“Yeah, me too, I hope he does”, said Abby “should we watch the movie?”

“Sure”, said Ellie and went to grab the snacks in the kitchen.

They watched the movie together. Abby was sitting in the middle, Ellie on her right and Dina on her left, and they hugged each other for a good part of the movie. Ellie had picked up a zombie movie and it was quite scary and Dina had to cover her eyes from time to time. It was a good movie but Dina was glad to feel Abby’s protective arm around her, it made her feel safer.


	12. Abby

Owen kept sending pictures of his kid. It was such a cute girl. However Abby tried to be very brief and make it clear that he should stop. After a month he did and she hoped this time he would really stop contacting her so often. It had been hard to talk about Owen with Dina and Ellie, she felt ridiculous but Dina seemed to be more patient and in time she managed to tell them more things. Ellie would sometimes just shut up and then hold a napkin or grab something very strongly and try to break it but she was trying to be supportive. In a way she found it endearing how Ellie wished nothing more than to break Owen’s nose or something.

Abby knew the subject could be tiresome. She was tired of it herself but she felt much better after talking about it with them. Nora had grown tired of the subject ages ago and preferred to talk about the kids whenever they talked, that wasn’t so often because they were in different time zones and their schedules were totally different. 

A week after he stopped messaging her she had to admit she still missed him but that she could deal with it. In time she hoped they could become friends again without having the need to be all over each other. Maybe the fact that her physical needs were covered helped, maybe the fact that she was meeting other people she had stuff in common with also helped, she had indeed found people she could see herself becoming friends with at Dina’s running club. It had been a relief. 

As their lives became more intertwined then they realized they had to make some sort of introduction to their respective kids. Although they did not live that far away and had probably seen each other at one of the pride parade events, they still needed to know what was happening. So, they organized one day to get to know each other at Ellie’s one day.

Abby knew she needed to tell her kids about this beforehand, maybe this could represent some trust issues with Lev again, she didn’t know, she just knew it wouldn’t work to just take them to Ellie’s and then say: “ _Hey, remember Bunny?, she’s married to Elie and now we are all together, cheers!_ ”.

So a week before the set date she sat with them, ordered their favourite pizza and then gathered her courage to talk with them.

“Soooo”, said Yara, shifting in her chair uncomfortably, “what is this all about?”

“Well, I think I need to come clean with you kids about something, it’s… a bit difficult but maybe you can understand”, said Abby.

“Oh oh, what happened now?”, asked Lev in a suspicious tone, “you broke up with Bunny, didn’t you? Choose Ellie in the end?”

“Not exactly, no, we’re still together”, said Abby.

“So… you are still with Ellie too?” asked Yara

_Damn, this is hard_ , thought Abby. She scratched her neck and sighed.

“Does Bunny know? Is she fine with this?”, said Lev, reproachfully.

“As a matter of fact, she does, and she is fine with this”, said Abby “Actually, they know each other”

“And they don’t hate each other’s gut?”, asked Yara, sounding more and more confused.

“No”, Abby laughed, she didn’t want to take this lightly but she couldn’t help herself, “quite the opposite”

“How so?”, asked Lev, intrigued.

“Well… the reality is that they have known each other for longer than I knew any of them”, confessed Abby.

“So they are friends?”, asked Yara

“No, not exactly… I mean I guess they were at some point, I guess in a way they still are”, said Abby and realized she wasn’t really making much sense. Yara and Lev were looking at her with worried faces.

“Did you smoke something before asking us to come sit here? Because I can’t understand anything you are saying”, asked Lev.

“No, ok. I know that it doesn’t sound like it makes sense but the reality is…” she sighed and tried to think what to say, “They are married”

Yara’s pizza fell on her plate. “Say that again?”

“They are married”, repeated Abby, “Bunny’s name is Dina, and she is married to Ellie, they have been married for years”

“Are they poly then?”, asked Lev.

“Yes, they are in an open relationship, and somehow, independently, I met each and ended up dating them, but now they want me to be a more important part in that relationship”

“So, they are married and you are their girlfriend?”, asked Lev.

“Yes”, said Abby.

“Ok”, said Lev.

“Ok? How are you so cool about all this?”, asked Yara, that seemed to still be processing what Abby had revealed.

“There’s plenty of polys nowadays, as long as they are all happy and they respect each other it’s fine”, said Lev and ate more pizza. “And how are you having trouble with this concept? You loved that comic with the married couple that had a boyfriend”

“It was a comic, ok? This is real life”, said Yara.

“So on paper it’s fine but if you meet someone that is actually doing that, it’s not fine?”, asked Lev in a tone that was dangerously close to a reprimand.

“That’s not what I said!”, protested Yara.

“Ok, ok, I understand that this is difficult to understand and I think each will process at their own time, we don’t need to get upset”, said Abby, trying to calm them down. She was happy that Lev was ok with her but she didn’t need to have the siblings fighting over this.

“Of course we need to get upset, the problem with many people is that they are fine with fiction stories about other people being poly, trans, gender fluid, etc, but then they realize someone they know is like that and suddenly it’s too much!”, said Lev.

“Lev, I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean it like that, I was just shocked, I don’t think that makes me a bad person”, said Yara

“You don’t need to apologize to me, apologize to mom”, said Lev and left to his room.

“Lev!”, said Abby and stood up but Yara put a hand on her shoulder.

“Maybe we should give him more time”, said Yara and sighed.

They sat and tried to continue eating. Some minutes passed and Abby decided to talk.

“I’m sorry”, Abby apologized.

“You don’t need to say that, I should be apologizing”, said Yara

“No, it’s fine, I understand this isn’t easy”, said Abby

“It is a bit strange for me but he’s right, I did love that comic and it is strange that I know about this concept but then still have a hard time accepting it from you, because you are my mom”, confessed Yara, “I guess in part it is always a bit hard to imagine a parent being a person with their own needs and their own intentions to explore and get to know more about their own selves. I keep imagining you as someone who has everything figured out and kind of unchanging”

“I have not much figured out, the image of an adult that knows everything and has their lives all arranged… that is sadly fake, I have to admit that there is always something new you can discover about others or yourself”, said Abby and shrugged.

“Sounds confusing”, said Yara.

“It can be… It is”, admitted Abby, “but it also means that life is not boring”

“Yours definitely doesn’t seem to be boring. Two girlfriends! That sounds like a lot of work”, joked Yara.

Abby felt very relieved. If Yara could already joke about this then they were on the right path.

“It can be but I think it’s worth it”, said Abby.

“So, you really like them both… and both of them like you?”, asked Yara

“Yeah, we do”, Abby scratched her forehead, “It’s unexpected but I think we are figuring things out together nicely, I think this can work”

“So, are you moving in with them?”, asked Yara

“No… I mean, I haven’t thought about it. I guess no, at least we have not discussed this. We just see each other as often as possible”, said Abby.

“Ok, just let us know if you ever decide to do that, ok?”, asked Yara.

“Of course, I wouldn’t do that without telling you both”, said Abby. “I was actually going to ask you both to come with me to Ellie’s on Friday but I guess I will have to wait until Lev is feeling less angry to ask”

“I am sure we can go”, said Yara and rose “I will go and talk to him, ok?”

“Shouldn’t I go?”, asked Abby.

“No, he’s annoyed at me, we probably need to talk for a while, at least let me try first”, said Yara.

“Ok”, conceded Abby.

She remained there for a while and decided to send a message to Nora. It seemed Nora was in a good mood, she had been promoted and was going to get paid more now. She even asked Abby about her romantic life, she never touched the subject but now she did. So Abby decided to tell her, briefly as Lev had put it. So she wrote: _I’m dating two women, they are married and I am their girlfriend_. Then she waited for Nora’s reply. It took a while and then she was videocalling.

“What the fuck?!”, was Nora’s way of hello, “How, when, who? Don’t get me wrong, these are great news, finally you are over that fucker, you have to tell me everything!”

“It’s kind of a long story to be honest…”, said Abby.

“Well, summarize, you can do it”, said Nora, excitedly.

“Ok, so… remember that girl, the Miller girl who stopped me from beating up her dad years ago?” said Abby and Nora nodded then her eyes widened and she sat. 

“Wait… are you telling me you are dating her? Ellie? And her wife?”, asked Nora incredulously. “Abby you beat the shit out of that girl ages ago, then she beat you almost leaving you unconscious, what, two years ago? How?”

“Well, as you know, we were in the same karate club and somehow our rivalry became more sport oriented and then it took a turn for something more… ehm.. physical. She told me she was in an open marriage and suggested we try being together and turns out we like being together, a lot. Then I told her I feel more for her and she said that wasn’t the arrangement, so she needs to discuss it with the wife. I asked her to not tell me the name of the wife and it turns out the wife also didn’t want to know my name. Then one night I am trying this bar I never went to, the one you recommended”

“You finally went there, can’t believe it”, said Nora “I told you, you needed to check new places”

“Yeah, I followed your advice, finally. Anyway, there this girl starts flirting with me, a gorgeous girl, and she asks me out but I wasn’t feeling so happy so I tell her I would only tell her my name if she wins me at darts, and she doesn’t but she doesn’t give up, somehow we started daring each other to do different things in exchange for the other’s name and we lose so we just start using nicknames and the whole time we keep just the nicknames and get very involved, she was so easy going and then she helped me rescue Yara from her former cult people”

“Who did what to Yara?”, asked Nora, sounding as if she was ready to go take a plane and beat the shit out of whoever had hurted Yara.

“Don’t worry, we dealt with them. Some cult people tried to kill Yara but we stopped them, with Dina’s help, by the way, that is her name, Ellie’s wife is Dina. You should have seen her, she’s so small but she just threw someone almost double her size to the floor like it was nothing, it was amazing! Anyway, soon after that I went to the meeting where Ellie was supposed to introduce me to her wife and I saw her and we almost lost our shit to each other but managed to talk about it. Turns out we all already wanted to be all together so, we are doing this, we are trying this. It is not always easy but it is working for us”

“Wow, that sounds incredible! I think it’s great that you found out girls are also your thing, sadly it is only now that you know”, said Nora, suggestively.

“No, I think it’s fine, I mean, I already ruined a friendship, two friendships, if I had lost you too.. That would have been too much”, admitted Abby.

“We’ll never know now”, said Nora, “but I am so happy you moved on, even if this is a strange situation, I am glad for you, you sound so much better than before! You look happy, that makes me happy too”

“Thank you”

“How are the kids taking this?”

“Ugh, Lev took it well, Yara took some time but I think she’ll be fine. Then I have to meet Ellie’s and Dina’s kid still”, said Abby

“Oh, they have a kid, damn, hope the kid is as understanding as yours were”, said Nora

“Dina told me their kid is genderfluid so maybe they are used to different things”, Abby shrugged.

“Maybe, anyway, I have to go, it was amazing talking to you, I really hope all goes well, and let’s try and not be strangers, ok? Talk to you soon, bye”, said Nora

“Congrats on the promotion, talk to you soon. Bye”, said Abby and hung up.

Lev and Yara went to the kitchen soon after that and sat in front of her.

“Yara told me you wanted to say something else”, said Lev

“Well, yeah, uhm.. This Friday, if you have nothing planned, Ellie and Dina wanted to meet you both and introduce their kid”, said Abby.

“Sure”, said Lev, “Let’s go. What’s their kid’s name?”

“I actually don’t know”, admitted Abby

“You know, I am starting to see a pattern here, you are really careless with people’s names”, said Lev

“It’s not that, the kid is genderfluid and they all call them JJ, and to be honest I never asked the full name”, said Abby

“See, careless”, insisted Lev, looking at Yara. But he was laughing and Yara laughed too.

Well, if laughing about their silly mom was what it took for them to be all in good terms again, then she was fine with it for now. 

Friday finally came and they went to Ellie’s. When the door was opened a kid dressed in a very eclectic but colorful manner, who was probably a head smaller than Lev in height opened the door. The kid smiled and opened the door wider to let them in.

“Hi, you must be Abby and kids. I’m JJ” said JJ “please come in, moms are waiting”

“Hi, you are right, I’m Abby, this is Lev and that is Yara”, said Abby

“Great, what are your pronouns? Mine are they/them” asked JJ

Abby was slightly taken aback but Lev and Yara did not even blink.

“Mine are he/his” said Lev

“She, her” said Yara and she very discreetly patted Abby's back.

“Uhm, she/her” replied Abby, feeling slightly silly

“Good, ok, so now come to the dinner, follow me” said JJ, pretending not to notice Abby’s reluctance.

Lev followed JJ and Abby and Yara did too but walked slightly slower because Yara grabbed Abby by her arm.

“What happened?” whispered Yara

“I don’t know, it just felt unnecessary”, whispered Abby and shrugged

“Believe it or not, it isn’t because you literally never know” whispered Yara

Abby thought about this and had to agree that it sounded true but that she probably needed to read more about this to be better informed.

Ellie and Dina had made some really tasty looking food - or ordered it at least - and they welcomed everyone quite happily.

“Lev, Yara, nice seeing you!” said Dina and went to hug them “as you must know now, my name is actually Dina”

“Hello” said Ellie and went to hug them too “and she is my wife”

“Abby told us” replied Lev

“We are actually quite happy for you all, I know it took some time for me to understand but I am happy to see my mom smile more often now”, said Yara

Abby felt slightly awkward at that but she only nodded and smiled.

“That’s so sweet” said Dina “I am quite happy you are all so understanding”

“Of course, we know the value of being accepted” said Lev, very directly, as it was his way.

Ellie smiled at them and offered them something to eat and drink.

“I have the feeling I have seen you before but I am not so sure”, said Lev to JJ after they sat down.

“Well, I am normally quite interesting looking so it’s possible”, admitted JJ

“I think Lev is right, weren’t you once with that goth band at pride?”, asked Yara

“Oh, that time was two years ago, when my girlfriend’s band was playing, yeah” said JJ

“So, that was you, I remember because it was such a contrast” admitted Lev

“True! They are always dressed in black and me, so colourful among them!” said JJ happily, “That was a fun day”

“It was, we should go together to the next pride” suggested Lev

“Sure, let’s”, said JJ

“Great, making plans already” said Ellie and looked encouragingly to Dina and Abby.

It went better than expected indeed and they made plans to go for a picnic the following week. When Abby spoke to Nora about it she asked for a lot of details about the picnic and Abby told her all her plans, happy that her friend was so invested in talking to her again. She didn’t imagine that what Nora actually wanted to do was joining them on the day of the picnic! So she was perfectly delighted and surprised when she did. She introduced her to Dina, Ellie and JJ. All seemed to hit it off fine. 

“Hi” suddenly a girl in very dark clothes was standing next to them “I’m Jessica”

“There you are, thought you got lost”, said JJ and went to kiss her “Everyone, this is Jessica, this is Abby, Yara, Lev and this is Nora, a friend of Abby that just happened to come today”

“Seems like a good day to meet my friend’s new family” said Nora

“Nice meeting you all” said Jessica shyly.

“How long have you been together?” asked Yara

“Uhm, don’t know, a year maybe?” said Jessica

“Yeah, couldn’t refuse when she asked me if I wanted to be her joyfriend, it was the best proposal ever”, said JJ effusively 

“I think it’s not just proper, it matches your personality”, said Jessica

“It sure does”, said Dina and gave a sandwich to Jessica. 

“Oh, someone is selling ice cream”, said Lev, sounding very interested.

“Ok, who wants it and what flavours should I bring?” asked Abby and grabbed her phone to write down as people were telling the flavours they wanted.

Nora joined her while she went to get the ice cream and they chatted a bit about Nora’s new position and what she was planning. The day couldn’t get any better, it was sunny but there was a nice breeze and spring was definitely here, with all the flowers and happy teenagers everywhere. Nora and Abby asked for the ice cream and they were both looking at the flavours and thinking about what to ask for next time, if they were going for a second round at some point. They got the ice creams and just when they were about to go back Abby felt someone tapping at her back and she turned and her face fell. It was Owen.


	13. Ellie

Ellie had thought for long if she should just go ahead and also invite Joel. Eventually that meeting would have to occur and might as well get it over with soon. But of course she was not going to do that without talking to Abby about it and they had all had a lot with the kids meeting although it did go quite well. Meeting Nora was fun too, eventually she would want Riley to meet these people too. Nora mentioned other friends that had wanted to come but didn’t have the time, like Manny, who sounded like a fun guy. She told all sorts of stories about Abby and her friends from days past and they all got along very nicely.

She should have suspected something was going to happen that would dampen their moods, everything was going way too nicely for this to be real. Of course it was real but still, she should have known that something annoying like that Owen dude showing up was going to happen. She did not know the guy but when she saw him approaching Abby, then how her face fell and she paled at seeing him she knew it must be him. She almost rose to go and punch him but Dina put a hand on her shoulder and made her sit again. She looked at Dina and felt terribly annoyed at her for a second but Dina shook her head and said:

“Can’t fight her wars for her, you know this”

Dina was fucking right but Ellie felt so frustrated. Abby and Owen stayed talking for a while and Nora came back to them with their ice creams.

“Figured I should bring them before they melt completely”, said Nora with a very disappointed voice “those two are probably going to be there for a while”

Ellie felt vindicated, Nora detested Owen as much as she did.

“Not your favourite guy either I see”, said Ellie

Nora sighed.

“He’s not a bad guy, he’s just bad for her”, said Nora, “anyway, can someone please tell me a joke or something funny because otherwise I might feel sick very soon”

_Now is my time to shine_ , thought Ellie and really made an effort to tell the best jokes she knew and tried to not pay as much attention to Abby and Owen. She was actually succeeding in this and was not even looking at their direction anymore when she got a text. It seemed Dina also got a text. It was Abby.

“ _Sorry, I’ll try and come back fast. Love u_.” she read that twice and then looked at where they were supposed to be and Abby and Owen were gone. 

“What the fuck?”, said Ellie and felt her blood starting to boil.

“What happened?” asked Nora

“They’ll be back soon”, said Dina, trying to be conciliatory

“Right… you know what, this is fishy”, said Nora and started sending messages.

Lev and Yara also did the same and the atmosphere remained tense for a couple of minutes until Nora spoke again.

“WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!” said Nora and she put a hand in her face “These fuckers”

“What is going on?” asked Lev

“I told Manny and the others that I was going to meet Abby here as a surprise, I told them so that they would come too if they could but they couldn’t. And then one of these idiots told this to Owen, what were they thinking? I fucking hate these guys, can’t trust them with shit” complained Nora “I’m sorry y’all, this is my fault”

Nora seemed really troubled so Ellie wanted to console her but JJ beat her to it.

“It’s not your fault doll, she has chosen to go with him” said JJ, “she probably has stuff she needs to sort out, sometimes a clean cut is not possible for everyone”

“Couldn’t have said that better myself” said Ellie, proud of her kid.

“Well, this has been dragging for long enough, let me tell you”, said Nora

“I’m sorry you feel that way but I think if possible, try and be patient”, said Yara “she has been very lonely here before Ellie and Dina came into her life”

“We have been with her” said Lev

“Yes, but she needs friends, someone her age”, said Yara “everybody does”

“Maybe you have a point” recognized Nora “I have been neglecting her but I just can’t stand the topic of Owen anymore, I just wish he disappeared for once”

“Tell me about it”, said Ellie

“We just have to try and be patient, see what happens here”, said Dina

“Hey” said Abby

They all almost jumped, they hadn’t heard her come back.

“Since when have you been standing there?” asked Nora

“I just came back, I am sorry I left, just needed to talk for a while but I think it’s finally done. Sorry” said Abby and she looked tired. 

“It’s ok, honey, come sit here”, said Dina. 

Abby sat next to her and Dina caressed her back. Abby looked at her and she seemed grateful.

“That’s nice, thanks”, said Abby smiling to Dina, who smiled back at her.

“So, I guess we need to bring more ice cream for Abby now, don’t we?” said Yara

“No, it’s ok”, said Abby

“I’ll go”, insisted Yara and went to get it

Yara brought an ice cream for Abby and they soon started to talk about other things. As Ellie felt her rage cool down she decided to go and sit next to Abby. She put a hand on her leg and looked at her.

“You ok?”, asked Ellie in a low voice

“Yeah, it’s not that big of a deal”, lied Abby

“Sure, probably as nice as losing a leg or something?” said Ellie jokingly

“It really isn’t that bad and I don’t want to talk about it right now”, said Abby

“Ok, if you ever want to, let me know” said Ellie.

“Thanks”, said Abby looking at the grass.

The mood improved slightly after that but Ellie still felt that if she ever saw that guy in the street it would be very hard not to go ahead and run him over. It was clear that he was toxic for Abby and somehow wasn't able to just let her go. They had something good going on and she hoped she didn't have to compete with a fucking asshole like that over Abby's attention. 

Later that day Abby took the kids back to her house but then wrote to Ellie and Dina and asked if she could come over. Ellie and Dina both said yes and soon Abby was there with them.

"Sooo" said Ellie, trying to relieve the tension in the air. She was so afraid that Abby would tell them it was all over, that she was going back to that guy but she didn't want to make a scene and not let her talk. 

"So" replied Abby looking at the cup of tea Dina just gave to her. She opened her mouth but then closed again. She seemed frustrated.

"Take your time" said Dina, always patient. 

Abby sighed and did take some seconds. Ellie was holding her cup with such strength she was probably going to break it soon. Dina seemed to realize this and held her hand. Ellie let the tension in the cup go but she was still afraid. Eventually Abby spoke.

"I just wanted to apologize" said Abby

_Fuck_ , thought Ellie and started biting her lips.

"I shouldn't have abandoned you all today just because he came and wanted to talk in a more private place but… the thing is I felt that I also needed to talk to him in person… I'm sorry about that, it made the rest of the day weird" continued Abby

Ellie blinked

"That's it?" asked Ellie

"What do you mean?" asked Abby, confused "you dislike my apology or-"

"No, no, that's not it" said Ellie "I'm just confused"

"Well now I'm confused too" admitted Abby

"What Ellie here is trying to say is that we were afraid you might want to forget all about us" said Dina "and try and pursue something with this man again"

"No, what? No, why? That's not it. I'm not interested, I wasn't lying when I told both of you that I love you, I do, I swear" said Abby

"But that man is interested in you?" asked Ellie

"You are focusing on the wrong thing honey, she just told us something important" said Dina "and I love you too Abby, that's why we were worried that you were going to leave us" 

"I'm not, that's not the plan" said Abby

Ellie sighted. _Ok, so she isn't leaving, good_. 

"Abby I do love you too but I can't help but be worried about this dude, he seems to always be there, around. That's what I asked if he is still interested" asked Ellie

Abby pressed her lips and looked down. She seemed to doubt for a second what she was going to say.

"I guess we all need honesty so here we go" said Abby and looked at them "he is but I think I finally made him understand that I at least moved on and I hope that will suffice and that he will stop trying now" 

That wasn't the reply Ellie was expecting or wanting but it wasn't entirely bad either.

"How do you feel about that?" asked Dina

"In part relieved, in part sad. I know it might not be what you want to hear but we had a very long relationship. I mean, not that long but… on and off for years… it isn't easy to let go of him. I thought I already did back when things started between Ellie and I but now… this felt final" admitted Abby "he was truly sad"

_ Sad or pretending to be sad? _ , thought Ellie. She didn't trust him.

"Forgive me, Abby, but… are you sure he was that sad? I mean, had he really wanted you for years, shouldn't he have come clean, end things with Mel and then be with you?" said Dina, as calmly as she could

"I know you have a very poor image of him but he wasn't a bad person we just had issues and it wasn't only he the one who wasn't letting go, it was also me so… I guess we were both very wrong for each other"

"Bullshit, the guy made you feel worthless, Abby you are amazing and people who think any different don't deserve you" bursted Ellie out, unable to hear Abby mistreating herself any longer.

Abby looked at her, amused. 

"It's not quite like that Ellie, you know I'm not always _amazing_ " replied Abby

"Well I think most of the time you are and I still dislike the guy" said Ellie

Dina laughed and then she said

"I can't say if I like or dislike him because I don't know him but I can understand your feelings and I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to share them with us. I'm also so relieved you aren't leaving us for him. Had you done that then maybe I would have hated him a bit too" admitted Dina

"You don't have to worry about that, I'm not going anywhere" said Abby in a warm voice and drank her tea.

Ellie didn't really think before acting and she didn't know why but that comment made her so horny she basically jumped at Abby, put her cup on the table and started kissing her. She was so relieved and so happy that they weren't losing her she tried to communicate that in her kiss. Abby was initially surprised but yielded to Ellie's kiss and opened her mouth, letting Ellie taste her even more. Ellie sat on one of Abby's legs and kissed her for a while.

"I'm really glad you're not leaving us" said Ellie when they broke the kiss

"I can tell" said Abby, in a seductive voice and smiling at Ellie

"You are not the only one that is happy" whispered Dina with a voice so deep and so clearly turned on, it made Ellie even more wet.

Dina sat on Abby's other leg and started kissing her too. It was amazing how the sight of them too made Ellie feel even more hot. They ended up fucking in the living room. Throwing clothes around, getting all tangled up, laughing and then fucking again. Eventually they went to the bedroom and tried to recover all the clothes, JJ didn't need to see all the mess. Abby woke up early, dressed up and said she needed to go back home since Lev and Yara were there. She kissed them both goodbye and they almost pushed her back in bed but she resisted the temptation and told them she would see them later.


	14. Abby

“Hi, Abby”

Owen was looking quite happy to see her but she felt terrible the moments she lay eyes on him. She sighed.

“Hi, Owen, what are you doing here?”

“I came to say hi”

“We are with friends” said Nora and then with a pointed tone she added “and with Abby’s girlfriends, they are over there”

“I see” said Owen “Abby, can we talk for some minutes?”

“I came with my girlfriends and my friends, and my kids, they are waiting, we have ice cream and it is melting” said Abby

“I won’t take that much time, I swear” insisted Owen

She looked at him and she just didn’t have it in her to deny him this, so she gave the ice cream to Nora

“Fine, just some minutes, they are waiting” said Abby

Owen’s face brightened but Nora rolled her eyes and left them. She didn’t need to say it but she seemed extremely disappointed. Once again, she was disappointing her friend by being with Owen but she wanted to talk to him too.

“So, what brings you here?” asked Abby, putting her hands in her pockets

“As I said, I came because I wanted to see you”, said Owen

“Right… so now you have seen me, what else?” said Abby

“Abby, don’t be an ass” complained Owen, jokingly

“Well, don’t behave like an ass and I won’t imitate you” replied Abby

“Ouch” said Owen

“Yup” said Abby “No, seriously, what do you want to talk about? My people are waiting”

“Are you really that annoyed about spending time with me?”

Abby sighed

“I am if you are only going to say nothing, just babbling, say what you have to say” insisted Abby

“Can we go somewhere more private?” suggested Owen

_Oh, hell no_ , thought Abby, _I am not sleeping with you this time, fuck that_

“We’re fine here” said Abby

“No, we are not, there’s too many people, please Abby”

“Why? And where do you want to go, anyway?”

_If he proposes his car I am punching him_ , thought Abby. That one time they had sex in his car had not been comfortable but she knew that if he asked her to go somewhere small like that he was planning on trying to fuck her and she was done with that.

“Over there, there is a small pond and now there are not so many people, the trees encircle it and it is quite nice actually

_Ok, that doesn’t sound that bad,_ considered Abby

“Fine” Abby conceded, and moved her arm showing the way “let’s go and let’s try and be quick _”_

He raised an eyebrow

“I don’t mean it like that, let’s just go” said Abby and didn’t look at him anymore

When they reached the area it was actually quite nice and peaceful, she had not been there before and she wondered why. But then he started talking

“Mel and I broke up, it wasn’t working for us” said Owen

“What? But what about the kid?” asked Abby

“We’ll share custody, it’s the least I can do” said Owen “I guess I should have known that it was never going to work, I should have left her ages ago, it’s a pity it took me this long to realize it wasn’t worth trying”

“Well, maybe you will go back together, you never know, things might change”, said Abby encouragingly

“They won’t” said Owen

“You don’t know that”, said Abby

“As a matter of fact I do, I tried for years, but I was just being stubborn”, said Owen

“Sorry about it then, hope you two can manage” said Abby

“Aren’t you going to ask me why we broke up?” asked Owen

“You said it already, you think you don’t love her” said Abby, getting confused

“I know I don’t love her” insisted Owen

“Whatever, it’s your life, I hope it works out for you” said Abby and crossed her arms and looked at the pond

They remained silent for a while

“Well, if that was it, then I guess I’ll see you around” said Abby and turned

Owen hugged her from behind and Abby just froze and her heart started to beat faster. 

“Please don’t leave yet” Owen begged

He was so desperate, sounded so sad that it moved Abby but she couldn’t allow this to continue

“Owen, you have to let me go” said Abby although it was hard for her to say that, There was something comforting about him holding her like that, the familiarity of his proximity made her doubt her resolve and she still craved for his company. “We said so many times that we have to stop and maybe you don’t believe me but I actually want us to stop this time, it has been going on for too long”

“I know, but I miss you” confessed Owen

“I miss you too she admitted and placed her hands on top of his “but it is too late”

“Abby… I never stopped loving you”

That hurt her, truly. Had she heard that some time ago, a year ago even, maybe she would have turned and kissed him, left everyone behind and just went with him even behind those trees but she wasn’t that person anymore. She didn’t feel like that anymore _._

“I am sorry Owen, it really is too late”, admitted Abby

Owen rested his face on Abby’s shoulder and sighed.

“I am sorry too, I wish I had not taken this long to realize I could lose you like that, I shouldn’t have put Mel through what I put her through and I shouldn’t have hurt you that way either”

“Hey, we did it all together, didn’t we? It’s not like you forced me, I did it willingly” said Abby with a sad smile “It’s just that I don’t feel the same anymore. I am sure you can move on too”

“I just have the worst timing, I wish I had taken better decisions in my relationship choices”, said Owen

“If there is someone out there who can't judge you for your strange decisions in relationships it's me, you know that right?” said Abby and she actually smiled now

He released her and she gave a step forward, turned around to face him and looked at him in the eyes. He was terribly sad but she knew now there was nothing she could do about that.

“I guess this is goodbye then” said Owen

“At least for now, maybe one day we can just be friends, you know?” said Abby and she meant it

“I doubt it” said Owen

“Hey, have a little faith, stranger things have happened to me” said Abby and smiled

“Ok” said Owen and gave her a small smile “I’ll try”

Then he sighted “I’ll leave you to be with your friends then, sorry for interrupting”

“Don’t worry about it” said Abby “Bye Owen”

“Bye Abby” said Owen, then turned and left _._

Abby sighed and watched him go for a second or two then she went back to her people.

The mood was slightly ruined but they managed to recover it a bit later. She went to talk to Ellie and Dina that night and clarify to them what had happened, she realized Ellie was jealous and it was best to talk now. She apologized and at the beginning it seemed they were both unconvinced but then she realized it was because they had been afraid Abby was going to leave them. This new relationship with all the attempts at being as honest as possible all the time, with all the talk and all those details was a challenge for Abby but it was also exciting. When she went to apologize she didn’t expect to end up fucking in their living room chair and then on the floor. She felt truly flattered to be so wanted and loved and by the people that she actually loved too. It might be unconventional but she was happier than she remembered being. They almost dragged her back to bed in the morning but she knew if she wasn’t back out then Lev and Yara would freak out. 

When she went back to the house she found Lev and Yara discussing whether to call the cops or not. 

“Mom, are you ok?” Lev asked as he ran towards her and looked at her face

“Yeah, I’m fine, sorry that I made you worry” said Abby

“You are here and you seem fine, that is what is important” said Yara smiling and then she looked at Abby and seemed to notice something “wait, was that…?”

Yara put a hand on her mouth and stopped talking.

“What?” asked Lev and looked at Yara suspiciously

“Nothing… uhm, I think those clothes suit you nicely but uhm… maybe not the best thing to go for a run, uh?”, said Yara

“Are you interested in running like Dina, now?” asked Lev

“Uh, I wasn’t running” confessed Abby

Yara put a hand in her face and Abby understood only then what Yara had tried to do. She was trying to help her hide the fact that she was wearing the same clothes as yesterday.

“Then where were you? We were very worried” protested Lev

“Uuuuh” Abby said and could not come up with a good excuse. 

_Might as well continue with this honesty thing_.

“Ok… uhm,” said Abby and she went to the sofa and sat “sit here”

They both did and looked at her expectantly

“Ok, the thing is, I didn’t spend the night here, and I know that is irresponsible but I didn’t plan it. It just happened. And the other thing is… I like to keep some things private because this relationship is new and well, I like having my privacy so sometimes I might not say it all” admitted Abby “but I will try to not stay away from the house when you are here, so… sorry”

“Oh”, said Lev “so you were with them”

“Yes”, admitted Abby, still slightly mortified

“I think that is great” said Yara, “you have a right to have a love life and you have a right to be private about it if that is what makes you comfortable”

“Yeah, I guess you are right” said Lev “I just don’t feel comfortable with you not being home while we are here but we are older so we can take care of ourselves… so yeah, you have a right to be with your girlfriends”

“Thanks… I also didn’t want to stay away but just … I didn’t plan that but I will be more careful, you two are still my priority” said Abby

“It’s ok” said both Lev and Yara and put their hands on Abby’s. 

Abby nodded and smiled at them.

“Ok, then, we should have breakfast and get ready for our days then” said Abby and they went to the kitchen.


	15. Dina

“Sorry, that was a new writer and really wanted to convince me to read his new novel” said Abby approaching her and Ellie. 

Abby was looking so dashing with her dapper look, her dark red suit fitted her amazingly. Dina could not help but imagine Abby on top of her and wishing to remove that suit from her. It was something she was looking forward to doing that night. Ellie had a black and white suit that also looked great in her and Dina had decided to wear a bright red dress for tonight. It was a book presentation party for an important author and many editors and writers were present. Dina could not believe Abby had a hard time making friends with these people, she seemed so comfortable with them now. But Abby had indicated that one thing is work and a different matter is being able to have a conversation about different matters outside work and actually click with someone. 

It was the first time they went to a big event all together that was not pride and she felt slightly nervous but people seemed friendly enough. Abby came to them and put a hand in their shoulders.

“Having fun?” asked Abby

“Yeah, you look amazing by the way” said Ellie to Abby

“Thanks,” said Abby and then she lowered her voice “you both look delicious”

“Careful there, babe, we can’t make a scene here” threatened Ellie

“Can’t we?”, said Abby and then put a hand in Ellie’s and Dina’s back and caressed them slightly. 

Dina’s dress was backless so she shivered when she felt Abby’s hand in her back.

“If you continue like this, we will all have to make a brief pause in the bathroom but I don’t think the stall is big enough for the three of us”, said Dina

“There’s one on the second floor that is a big bathroom, no stalls, it can be locked”, suggested Abby

“How scandalous” said Dina, pretending to be shocked

“I am in”, said Ellie and looked at them with intent

“Are you two out of your minds?, There’s no way we can pull this off and look normal after we leave that place” said Dina

“I am not sure people would notice”, said Abby

“Yeah, people are more self centered than you think”, said Ellie

Dina grabbed them both by their cravats and pulled them down so their heads would be closer to hers.

"Don't start things that you won't finish" threatened Dina

Abby and Ellie looked at each other and smirked.

"Who said I won't?" whispered Abby

Dina released them both

“Ok, but don’t ruin my dress”, said Dina and went to the stairs.

She had already climbed two steps when she turned to see that both Ellie and Abby were looking at her perplexed.

"What? Are you chickening out now?" asked Dina

Ellie and Abby looked at each other, cleared their throats and went after Dina.

"That's what I thought" said Dina

Abby showed them the place and luckily no one was around so the three went in and Abby closed the door. While Abby was going that, Ellie started kissing Dina and she almost forgot her initial idea of not running her dress but then she pushed Ellie back.

"Remember that we still have to go out there" said Dina panting

"So, what is your suggestion?" asked Ellie

"We each take our clothes off and try and not ruin it" said Dina

"That doesn't sound like much fun" protested Abby

Dina rose an eyebrow.

"Seriously, you have never imagined striping for your partner?" said Dina suggestively

She put a finger in one mouth and removed a glove by biting into it while she slowly moved her hand down until her hand was free. Then she grabbed that glove in her free hand and repeated the process with the other glove. All that while looking at them both with intent. 

As she had started Ellie's and Abby's breathing had begun accelerating and Dina could see they were very much into this. 

She turned around but still looked at them and started removing her dress until she was in nothing more than her underwear. Before turning to face them again she said.

"Why are you not undressing?" said Dina in a seductive voice.

As she turned around both Ellie and Abby started undressing. Abby definitely felt still a bit awkward, she was undressing with care to not running her clothes but as she undressed and bit her lower lip nervously she actually looked quite appealing. Ellie, on the other hand, tried to do this as fast as possible and it was good that Ellie had bought a suit that was made out of unwrinkle fabric because she just tossed it aside without a care. Still, the wild way in which Ellie was doing this was also very appealing to Dina. They had different styles but they somehow worked for Dina.

Ellie finished undressing and went to kiss Dina again, deeply and lustfully. Ellie's hands were on Dina's back and neck. Then the hand that was on her neck started going down and touching Dina's breasts. Abby came from behind and started to kiss Dina's neck and her hand went down too and then to the side and then went to her vulva. Abby was fucking her while Ellie kissed her. Dina came and she felt lucky that Ellie was kissing her otherwise the noise would have been heard, maybe even at the party. But Abby was feeling adventurous and continued fingering her, Dina knew she would surely come again soon but she also felt very adventurous so she put one hand in Ellie's folds while she moved the other backwards until she reached Abby's. Abby gasped when Dina started fingering her but soon she was panting and then moaning. Ellie and Abby came after Abby made Dina come. But it seemed they wanted to continue a bit more. 

This round, to try and be quiet they ended up biting the other when they came, so that the noise would not be heard from outside and Dina did not want to get bitten because her dress was so revealing, she had no way to hide the marks so she had to push them and cover their mouths with her hands. However, she had to admit it had been pretty hot fucking in such a formal party. 

They tried to arrange themselves as nicely as possible afterwards but Dina’s hairdo was totally ruined so she just combed her hair, used a bit of water and let her hair loose after they left the bathroom. Soon after they rejoined the party a couple of photographers wanted to take pictures of the people present and Dina could not believe how terrible their timing had been. Weeks after that people at Eugene’s were still asking her who her hairdresser was because they liked her wild look. The funny part was that they were honest, they actually liked that hairstyle in her. People in the magazines then later reported that she had sort of started a trend on wild sexy look. Dina never told them that it was just a recently been fucked look and nothing more. 

A few months after that Ellie had mentioned that Joel might come to visit. They had discussed with Abby, to know if she was ready to face him but she had not been until recently. Until then, Ellie had usually gone to visit him with Dina and JJ but Joel had already forgiven Abby and it was just a matter of Abby being able to forgive Joel. One day Abby said she felt she was ready to meet him so they invited him for the weekend. It was probably better to talk while JJ was with his dad, at least for this time. They were all, again slightly nervous but this did not feel as awkward as that time Abby had “met” Dina or anything of the sort. It was just having to do with dealing with the past and how horrid it can be.

When Joel came they hugged him and welcomed him happily. This time the one that was waiting in the living room was Abby. She stood up when Joel arrived and they looked at each other as two wild animals that observed each other, analyzing the other to see if they needed to get ready to attack or defend themselves. 

“Hi” said Joel

“Hi” replied Abby and seemed to deflate.

They stood in silence for a while.

“Does anyone need a drink?” asked Ellie nervously

“I am sorry” said Joel to Abby “I should not have said those things to your dad or punched him, he was just trying to do his job”

They remained in their places. Abby was standing and looking at him and it seemed she was experimenting a series of emotions. Her hands were tightly pressed into fists but she eventually released them. She sighed.

“I’m sorry I tried to kill you” confessed Abby “despite what you did, it was not your fault my father died”

Joel nodded. 

“I hope we can move on. Ellie...” said Joel and briefly looked at Ellie “she’s my daughter and I love her and if she loves you too, then I want to get to know you and let all that behind us”

Abby initially seemed like she wanted to protest but then she sighed again. “I agree but… it won’t be easy”

“I figured” said Joel

“But if you want to try...” said Abby

“I do”

“Then I will try too” said Abby

“Good” said Joel

“Great” said Ellie hugging Joel “now we should try and eat and start getting you two acquainted”

They went to the kitchen. Abby stood there looking at the floor for some seconds and breathed in and out. Dina came to her and observed her then slowly went and put a hand on her shoulders. Since Abby didn’t push her back, she went ahead and held her hands.

“That was very brave” said Dina to Abby in a soft voice

“No it wasn’t, he went straight for it. No wonder Ellie is so direct” said Abby, shaking

“But you did great, you must have a lot of conflicted feelings still” said Dina

“I… really wanted there to be someone else to blame… but it was all dad’s doing, he went ahead and drank and killed himself… but then again he had issues, had I insisted more in him searching for help maybe…” said Abby

“No. This is not your fault” said Dina

Abby sighed again.

“I know but I can’t help but wish things were different” confessed Abby

Dina put a hand in Abby’s cheek and looked her in the eyes. Abby responded by looking at her in the eyes.

“I still think you did great and I am proud of you” said Dina and Abby smiled

“Thanks…” said Abby and put her hand on top of Dina’s “but we should probably go to them”

“Sure”

They went to the kitchen where Joel was making his disgusting beverage. Ellie was preparing tea, something that appealed to Dina much more. 

“Does someone else wants coffee?” asked Joel

“You know very well no one does” teased Ellie but Abby spoke at the same time

“I do” said Abby

Ellie and Dina looked at her as if she had said she enjoyed eating mud or some other equally disgusting thing.

“You drink that?” asked Dina

“Sure, who doesn’t?” asked Abby looking at them amused

“We don’t”, said Ellie

“We hate that shit” said Dina

“Then how come there is coffee in this house?” said Abby and crossed her arms

“We bought it for him” said Ellie and pointed to Joel

“Do you want a ristretto, macchiato or expresso?” asked Joel

“Macchiato” said Abby

“Look, they are already speaking in another weird language” murmured Ellie to Dina.

Dina just hit her with her elbow and gestured for her to shut up. If disgusted burned black water was going to make Abby and Joel understand each other, then so be it. As it turned out, coffee was something Abby and Joel could talk about for some time, it seemed safe enough and from then on they discussed other things. Ellie detested the smell of that but she suffered it in silence. Dina was amazed by both Joel and Abby and how much they must love Ellie to be able to sit together and talk about that disgusting drink and other nonsense and put the shit they have been through behind them. She was glad they were trying to at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I could not post it all yesterday! But anyway I still consider this to be my Nanowrimo because I wrote it all in November, even though I am finishing to post it later


	16. Ellie

Dina had picked her up when Ellie came back from her mission. Ellie knew they had already emptied the house but she wanted to see it one last time and although she was tired she asked Dina to just stop by for some minutes. Dina agreed and they went in.

“So that was it, this is no longer home” said Ellie nostalgically

“No, the new owners will take it next month” said Dina

“We went through so much here” said Ellie “I will miss this place”

“Yeah but we have more people in the family now” said Dina

“I know…” said Ellie “but I still think we had some nice times here, some difficult times but some truly memorable times too”

“I know” said Dina and smiled at Ellie

Ellie came to her and hugged her.

“I love you” said Ellie

“I know” said Dina

Ellie chuckled

“You really liked that space opera” said Ellie

“It was fun” said Dina

“Maybe I should get you a Leia costume then” said Ellie

“Why me? I think I could be Han Solo and you could be Leia” said Dina

“Uhm… me wearing that small bikini, I don’t know” said Ellie jokingly

“I think I would love to see you in that” teased Dina

“I don’t really have that much in that department, you know” said Ellie and pointed at her breasts

“I think you have just enough and I think it would look great on you” said Dina “in fact I would love to check how those breasts look right now”

“Now?” asked Ellie and looked around “Dina, this place is empty”

“I thought you were nostalgic” said Dina

“Yeah but… I mean, there is not even a pillow here” said Ellie

Dina caressed Ellie’s face and her finger slowly went from her face to her neck to the first button on Ellie’s shirt.

“I know but… what about one last goodbye to this place?” said Dina suggestively

Ellie smiled, thinking that Dina's idea didn't sound bad.

“You know what, I think you are right, this place needs a proper goodbye” said Ellie and kissed Dina, hungrily. 

Dina unbuttoned Ellie’s shirt and they both took each other’s clothes while they kissed. As they were doing that Ellie moved them towards the wall but when she was about to push Dina against it Dina made them turn and she was the one pressing Ellie against the wall as she started fingering her. Ellie continued kissing her while she also put a hand on Dina’s folds and her other hand caressed Dina’s breasts and then went to her back. Dina kissed Ellie’s neck and then sucked on her nipples and made her come soon after that. Then Ellie moved Dina against the wall and continued kissing her and touching her until she came. Then they fucked on the floor and in every room of the house until they were both too tired to continue.

“See, your breasts are just fine” said Dina

“Didn’t say they weren’t just that a Leia outfit might suit you better” said Ellie

“I say, we buy one and we both use it, in fact we can buy one for Abby’s size too” said Dina

“How are you going to convince Abby to put that on?” said Ellie laughing

“Oh, I have my ways” said Dina with a knowing smile. 

“I’ll believe it when I see it” said Ellie

“What do you want to bet?” asked Dina

“You know what, if you manage to make her wear that, I will wear that red body fishnet you so wanted me to try” said Ellie 

“Deal” said Dina happily

“But, if you don’t manage by next month… then you will have to wear that fishnet” said Ellie

“Ellie your bets are boring, I already have a black one, a red one was on my list anyway” said Dina

Ellie chuckled. 

“I’m sorry I can’t come up with something right now, I am so tired” said Ellie

“Then let’s go home, gotta shower you and put you to bed” said Dina and kissed her cheek

Ellie smiled at her but soon after that they did exactly that. Ellie had only one day to rest after all. When they arrived home Abby hugged and kissed Ellie.

“Glad you are back” said Abby 

Then she pulled back and looked at her and then at Dina and narrowed her eyes.

“You know, you guys took longer than I expected… way longer” said Abby amused

“Oh, we just wanted to say goodbye to the house” said Ellie “our old house”

“You still have the keys?” asked Abby as they went to the kitchen and sat on the table there to eat something.

“Yup” said Dina

“Ooooh, someone went to get laid on an empty house, and then you say I have weird kinks” joked Abby

“You are not mad?” asked Ellie, unsure, then she started eating.

“Not really, I understand” said Abby

Dina and Ellie looked at each other.

“You know, we were both with you at your old place, maybe we should go and say goodbye to it too” said Ellie and kissed Abby’s cheek

“I’ll pass, I quite like our new place” said Abby “you don’t have to worry about me, really”

“Are you sure?” asked Ellie

“Sure, for real I can understand your nostalgia over that place but I am fine with our new arrangement, I am happy here, besides there is already people living in my old house” said Abby

“Would be weird if they had three women randomly fucking in their bedroom” said Dina “although…”

“No” said Abby “I’m not doing that”

“Not saying there, but trying sort of risky places… that could be fun” suggested Dina

“Let’s talk about that later, it seems you tired our space cowboy here too much, she is about to fall asleep on the table” said Abby and went to Ellie

“I’m not” said Ellie but she was indeed barely able to keep her eyes opened

Abby lifted her without much effort and carried her like a baby.

“You don’t need to do that” said Ellie but she laid her head on Abby. 

“Shh” said Abby and took her to bed. 

“I should shower” said Ellie

“Later” whispered Abby and laid Ellie on the bed. 

She removed her clothes and shoes and put a shirt on her, then covered her with the blanket. Ellie would have sworn she felt a kiss on her forehead before drifting into sleep. The following day she did shower but mostly rested, she knew there would be a lot to do the following day.

Two days after Ellie arrived, people were coming to visit them. Some had already come and then Ellie went to open the door.

"Welcome back!" said Joel and hugged her

"Hey, you managed," said Ellie. 

She was surprised to see him when she opened the door. She directed him to the kitchen.

"Wouldn't miss your housewarming party for the world" said Joel “Tommy and Maria couldn’t make it, they had that conference in Ireland, you remember that, right?”

“Yeah, maybe when they are back they can come and visit” said Ellie

Ellie couldn't believe they were finally making this official. It had only been two days since she returned from her last mission but Abby and Dina had organized the party anyway. It was strange for Ellie to return from a mission and go directly to a new home but Dina and Abby had been eager to move and had decided to move even without Ellie around. So Ellie just had to deal with it. At least now she had a room for her paintings. Abby had agreed they could divide the studio room in two, and that she didn’t mind having Ellie around while she worked. 

"So, how many people are coming?" asked Joel

Ellie opened the fridge and gave him a beer.

"I can't remember, it seems like Nora and some other friends from Abby are coming, I still haven't met them" said Ellie nervously "and then Riley and her wife, Lydia, then Dina’s sister Talia, Jesse, Xyla, Jennifer are already here..."

“How is Talia?” asked Joel

“Yeah… it took her around a year to understand us but she is ok now”

“I’m glad, I know that Dina really loves her,” said Joel

“She does, they even cried when Talia came to say she rather fight with her religious friends than with her own sister” said Ellie

“I’m glad for her” said Joel and then he seemed to think for a while 

"So, not that many people are coming, then" said Joel "what about Abby's kids, don't they have like… friends?" 

"They do but they decided it was ok to keep this more intimate" said Ellie

She was thankful to Lev, Yara and particularly to JJ, who was very sociable, because they all seemed to notice how big parties were not a thing Ellie would enjoy.

"Those are good kids" said Joel with a knowing smile "you are still not fond of big gatherings I see" 

"No" admitted Ellie "just the thought of meeting Abby's friends makes me nauseated… I mean I did beat her up pretty badly that time… maybe one of them still resents me"

"If her kids like you I'm sure the friends would like you too" said Joel encouragingly

"Yeah, let's see about that… and I think for a time Lev didn't really liked me that much" commented Ellie

"That was because Abby was in love and suffering" said Lev, who just went to the kitchen to grab juice "she probably thought you didn't love her at that time"

"Hi Lev.. that was… I'm not always good at saying what I feel... Those were difficult times, sorry about that… By the way, this is Joel, my dad" said Ellie, awkwardly

"Hello Lev" said Joel "Ellie has been telling me many things about you and Yara"

"Really?" said Lev and shook Joel's hand "like what?" 

"That you and your sister practice archery and are pretty agile" said Joel 

"Has she told you we beat her at shooting games too?" asked Yara as she came to the kitchen "nice to meet you Joel, I'm Yara"

"No, she hasn't" said Joel smiling and shaking Yara's hand "probably forgot that part"

"Ha ha, funny" complained Ellie "that's only because I don't do this professionally like you guys"

"We aren't professionals, not like JJ at least," said Yara.

Ellie decided to use that information in the next chance she could and then heard someone else was ringing the bell. Abby briefly walked past the door of the kitchen and saw that Ellie was about to go open the door.

"Don't worry, babe, I got it" said Abby then realized Joel was there. She pressed her lips but then said "hi Joel"

"Hi Abby" said Joel

Abby nodded and went to open the door.

"I'll say she doesn't hate you anymore" said Lev "she's just mildly annoyed at your presence"

Yara hit him in the side.

"Auch, it's true" said Lev

"Don’t worry, eventually she will like you" said Yara "she just needs a bit more time" 

"Oh, I have an idea for ice-breaking, why don't we do a karaoke session and you play the music" said Ellie

"I'm not sure that's a good idea" said Joel doubtfully

"Could be fun" said Lev and shrugged

"I agree" said a man "hi, I'm Manny" 

"Joel" said Joel

"Manny, this is Ellie" said Abby 

Ellie nodded and shook Manny's hand

"You already know my kids" said Abby and gestured towards Yara and Lev

Yara and Lev waved and Manny went to hug them.

"Of course" said Manny "you guys are so big now"

"It hasn't been that long since we last saw you" said Yara

"Like two years or so" said Lev

“That long, wow!” said Manny “sorry to have been away that long, I feel like a bad friend”

Lev just slurped his juice with a straw. Loudly. Yara hit him in the back of the head lightly and smiled awkwardly. Lev narrowed his eyes to Yara and she gave him a serious look. Joel just drank his beer and looked to the side.

“You are not a bad friend, life happens, there’s just too much work and you live far away...” said Abby

But Ellie had the impression there was something else there and she could not quite figure it out.

“Why are you all here in the kitchen?” asked Dina, suddenly coming to see who was there “Hi! You must be Manny, Abby mentioned you would come”

Dina extended a hand towards him. Manny seemed to have forgotten he was put on the spot and brightened when he saw Dina and went to shake her hand. Ellie was irked by all of this.

“Pleasure, you must be Dina” said Manny “you are prettier than what she said”

“Oh, thanks” said Dina

Abby grabbed Manny and lightly pushed him towards the refrigerator. 

“Yeah, yeah, now you know her, let me give you that beer you wanted” said Abby

Elli smirked, she wasn’t the only one who was jealous. Abby gave him the beer and Manny drank.

“Anyway, are you guys coming? I know kitchen can be a fun place to hung around but the food is already on the tables over there” said Dina

“I have to try that” said Joel and started to leave

“We’re doing the karaoke so I am hoping you can play the guitar later” said Ellie

“Damn, I was hoping you already forgot” said Joel

“Nope” said Ellie

“Ok, could be a good chance to check in what state are you keeping that guitar” said Joel

Ellie just rolled her eyes and Joel left the kitchen smirking at her annoyance.

“Parents, always trying to check for something you didn’t do right” said Many jokingly

“Yeah” said Ellie 

“I wouldn’t say that of Abby, though, she’s pretty chill” said Yara

“That’s because you are already such good kids” said Abby

“What are you implying?” asked Ellie

“Babe, they are clearly telling you that you are a handful and don’t pretend you aren’t” teased Dina and hugged her

“I’m not” protested Ellie

“You are but we love you” said Abby and kissed Ellie’s forehead

“So, what are we waiting for? Are you not going to come to eat? We don’t want you to get all drunk here” said Dina

“Sure, I was just catching up with my friend here” said Manny and put a hand on Abby’s shoulder

Dina looked at Manny and Abby and she seemed like she was analysing something there. 

“Don’t worry this is just friendly” said Lev “Abby has never had feelings for him in that way”

“Thank you for the clarification” said Dina 

“But you forgot to mention that he didn’t have feelings either” said Ellie, sort of like a question and a confirmation

“Of course he never did” said Abby and laughed "that is just ridiculous"

Manny let go of Abby. Lev slurped his juice and left the kitchen and Yara smiled at them nervously and left after him. Yara whistled something at Lev that sounded very angry and Lev whistled back.

_Cowards_ , thought Ellie.

Dina put her hands in her waist and Ellie crossed her arms and they both looked at Abby and then at Manny.

“Don’t worry, that was years ago, it was just a crush, it did not even last a year” confessed Manny

“What?” asked Abby confused then it seemed something clicked in her mind “wait… was that… that year you stopped calling every month?”

Manny nodded.

“I’m sorry, I haven’t been such a good friend” said Manny to Abby then he looked at Dina and Ellie “but you two have nothing to worry, my feelings have changed and I see that you three are very happy together”

Abby was still perplexed and Ellie was still annoyed, ready to gut this guy or something. As expected, Dina was the calmer one.

“Ok, thank you for the clarification” said Dina “we appreciate honesty in our relationship so I think that is fitting that Abby’s friend can also be honest with us and if you really feel differently now then...”

“I swear, even when I felt that crush I always knew that Abby was an important friend… I’m sorry Abby, hope you can understand” said Manny

“Sure… I mean… confusing feelings are my specialty so of course I can emphasize” said Abby and smiled awkwardly “I just wished I knew before”

“It would have made things awkward” said Manny

“Unlike now, for example?” asked Abby and chuckled

“Yeah but now I can laugh it off, no way I can compete with these beauties here” joked Manny “Your taste in women is”

Manny did a chef kiss gesture

“Impeccable” said Manny

“Flattery won’t help you here, Manny” said Ellie and narrowed her eyes at him

“I’m just congratulating my friend here, nothing more” said Manny

“It’s ok babe, if Abby leaves us for him it’s her loss” joked Dina

Ellie looked at Dina alarmed

“It’s a joke, you need to chill” said Dina and then she looked at Abby and pointed at her with a finger “I’m joking but don’t even think about it”

“The idea wouldn’t even cross my mind, I swear” said Abby to Dina and then to Manny “sorry, Manny, I’m very much into these two”

“It’s ok, I am happy for you, haven’t seen you this happy in a while so I am glad for you. How long have you been together now?” asked Manny

“Three years” said Ellie

“That’s a long time” said Manny

They heard a doorbell. Abby looked at Dina and Ellie and realized neither had any plan of leaving the kitchen now.

“Ok, I’ll get it then” said Abby and looked at Manny doubtfully

“I’ll be ok” said Manny "ve, no hay problema"

Abby nodded and left.

“So…” said Ellie

“I swear, I have no funny intentions, I’m just a friend and wish to remain so” said Manny

“The thing is, we have been together for years, Ellie and I, but with Abby it still feels new” said Dina “and we just want honesty… so if at some point those feelings return we just need to know and hope you can be honest with Abby and us”

“No, I don’t think they will, I am seeing someone actually at the moment” said Manny

“Why didn’t you bring this person?” asked Ellie

“Because it’s recent, bringing her to big gatherings could have freaked her out” said Manny

“Understandable” said Ellie

“Hello, hello” said a pretty woman that came with Abby

She went to hug Manny.

“Ellie, this is Leah. Leah, this is Ellie” said Abby

Leah hugged Ellie too

“Oh, ok, nice to meet you” said Ellie, slightly embarrassed

“And this Dina” said Abby to Dina and Leah

Leah hugged her too and smiled even more brightly. Dina smiled too and Ellie rolled her eyes. She couldn't deal with all that jealousy at so many fronts.

“Where is Jordan?” asked Abby

Manny tried to stop her from asking but he couldn’t. Leah’s smile faded immediately. Leah took the beer from Manny’s hand and drank.

“We broke up” said Leah, flatly

“Sorry, I didn’t know” said Abby awkwardly

  
  


“So, who wants to try some food” said Dina “also, there’s going to be a karaoke competition”

The doorbell rang and JJ went by and opened the door. 

“Yes, let’s make groups” said Ellie

“Didn’t know you had a karaoke machine” said Leah, who happily welcomed the change of topic

“We don’t” said Ellie “my dad will play the guitar and we will display the lyrics on the screen” 

“Cool” said Leah “I like it”

“Hi” said Nora “heard something about karaoke”

“Hello, Nora, we are making a competition, want to try?”

“Of course!” said Nora

They introduced Leah, Nora and Manny to everyone else and then Xyla approached Ellie.

“I have a question, did you perhaps use watercolours for those two paintngs?” asked Xyla

“Oh, yes, I did” said Ellie

They both approached the paintings in question. One of them was of Abby, Dina and Ellie together and the other was of them three with JJ, Lev and Yara. 

“How long have you been using watercolours?” asked Xyla

“I think for several years, can’t exactly remember when I started to be honest” said Ellie “with work and all I don’t always have time but when I am here I try to do that on the weekends”

“That is so nice” said Xyla “I really like your style”

“Thanks” said Ellie “do you paint?”

“Just started, like two monts ago, I am very far away from this” said Xyla pointing at Ellie's pictures

“You never know” said Ellie and shrugged

“I just enjoy so much the unexpected things about watercolour, like it’s so versatile, who knew you could erase something from it… it’s just so unexpected” said Xyla

“It’s nice for experimentation, I have a lot of fun with watercolours too” said Ellie

“What paper do you prefer for painting? I am trying to start on this but the thing is.. Since I am a beginner I don’t want to go and buy all these expensive things and then maybe it turns out I don’t like it that much, you know?” said Xyla

“I think the best option is try and start small, get a few good quality watercolours and a few quality watercolour papers and experiment. After all, you really don’t get the same results with shitty paper but you don’t really need to spend a lot of money I can give you some tips about brands and where to buy, if you want” said Ellie

“I would love to hear them” said Xyla excited

Xyla and Ellie spoke for at least an hour about watercolours, inspiration and painting then Jesse came to them.

“Hey, are you trying to make a move on my girl?” asked Jesse “you are known for doing that”

Ellie blushed, shook her head and opened her mouth.

“NO” Ellie almost yelled “I swear”

“I’m kidding, no hard feelings” said Jesse and smiled

“You are evil” said Xyla and kissed him. 

Ellie just sighed and hit him in the shoulder. Jesse smirked 

"For the record it's not true, I didn't steal Dina" said Ellie to Xyla

"I know" said Xyla "he told me the real story"

"I just like to tease you sometimes" said Jesse

"Hilarious" said Ellie, not amused at all.

Jesse chuckled.

“I heard there was going to be some competition” said Jesse “but you two are nerding around here and Joel was mentioning he was going to leave soon”

“Not on my watch” said Ellie and went to grab her guitar

She got the guitar and put it unceremoniously on Joel’s hands. Then she announced before he could protest:

“We’re making a karaoke competition” said Ellie

Joel sighed “Ok”

“Nice, I wanted to hear you play, haven’t heard that in a long time” said Talia "this is such a privilege"

“No pressure” said Lev and slurped his juice

“Sure, no pressure” said Joel

He probably felt a lot of pressure.

JJ clapped, excited. “Ooooh, I love these things, I’m on mama Ellie’s team”

“Oh, so there will be teams? I’m on Ellie’s team too” said Dina “Talia?”

“No, I think not” said Talia but she smiled at Dina “I’ll be in the other team, to make this more fun”

“What do you say Abby, are you also against me, for old time’s sake?” teased Ellie 

“Hell no, no way, I know better than to compete against you here” said Abby “In fact I think I’m going to sit this one out”

“Don’t be boring” said Dina and hugged Abby “at least be on our team then”

Abby doubted for a while.

“Please” insisted Dina and looked at Abby pleadingly

“You are cheating but ok, I’m on your team” said Abby and sighed

“I’m with Abby” said Yara and Lev at the same time

“I’m not singing but I will record you” said Jennifer already taking her phone out.

“Why not?” asked Ellie

“She prefers to look at us making a fool of ourselves, pretty smart” said Yara

“Then I’ll be on Talia’s team” said Leah “and I pick, Xyla, Jesse, Manny, Nora, Riley and Lydia”

“You are on” said Riley. Ellie smiled.

“I will have to excuse myself” said Lydia

“Why?” asked Nora

“She’s an opera singer” said Riley “wouldn’t be fair”

“I’ll cheer for you babe” said Lydia and sent her a kiss. Riley winked at her.

They sang a couple of old rock songs and they were actually pretty tight in the competition but then Jesse made a couple of mistakes in one song and so Ellie’s team won. Since there was no prize they just continued drinking and playing other games.

Later, Ellie went to the kitchen to grab more drinks and there she found Abby talking with Lev.

“Since when?” asked Abby

“Mom, I’m 21” said Lev, flatly

“Ugh, I know but… I wish you had told me” said Abby sounding defeated

Ellie started to walk away and hoped they did not see or her.

“Hey, Ellie, come and tell her this isn’t such a big deal, people start at 16 even” said Lev

Abby turned around and saw her.

Ellie smiled awkwardly.

_Fuck_ , thought Ellie, she was not in the mood to talk about this with them. 

“Uhm, I don’t know if I should have a say in this” said Ellie

“Why not?” asked Lev

“I trust Abby knows best” said Ellie, trying to think of a way out of this conversation

Lev looked disappointed.

“Seriously, you would think I’m doing something risky, it’s just alcohol” said Lev and slurped his drink

“What?” asked Ellie “I thought you guys… uhm”

“What did you think we were talking about?” asked Abby

“Sex?” asked Ellie

“Oh, no, we already talked about that too, I mean if you want to know-” said Lev

“I don’t know if I should” said Ellie

“It's ok, not a big deal” said Lev “I have been active for a while and Abby and I already discussed all the ways to do this safely”

“Ok” said Ellie “yeah, that’s… good I’m glad you are open about this… but uhm… then why is alcohol an issue?” 

“It’s not an issue, it’s just that he has been putting gin to his juice but then by accident JJ took a bit and realized it was not just juice” said Abby “and I just think that to avoid these things is better that he tells others what he is doing”

“Oh, but JJ has tried gin before” said Ellie

“They have?” asked Abby

“They are 18 already” said Ellie and shrugged “they just don’t like it”

“Oh, ok” said Abby

“See, no big deal” said Lev and left

Abby watched him leave but she seemed worried.

“He’s a good kid, don’t worry, you did an amazing work” said Ellie

“I can’t help but worry… you know… my dad… I mean” Abby sighed “I think drinking is fine but in moderation”

“I know” said Ellie and hugged her from behind “but he’s smart, I’m sure he will be careful”

“I hope so” said Abby

They remained like that for a while.

“You know, this is nice” admitted Abby and put a hand on Ellie’s hands

“It is” said Ellie and then she sighed “but there’s people and I have to take more drinks”

“Yeah, maybe later” said Abby as Ellie released her “maybe I can help you”

Ellie smiled at Abby and kissed her lightly

“Thanks” said Ellie

They took the drinks to the table in the living room and then Riley approached Ellie.

“Hey” she whispered “I left something at that table behind the decoration”

“Ok, thanks but why are you being all secretive?” asked Ellie

“It’s.. private, better check it out later with your girls” said Riley

Ellie gasped

“You didn't” said Ellie

“Oh, I did” said Riley

“Really, thanks” said Ellie “when I mentioned it I wasn’t expecting you to buy that”

“For all the birthday presents that I forgot” said Riley and smiled

“What are you two talking about here?” asked Abby

After years she could clearly identify Abby’s jealousy tone. 

_Now is your turn to be jealous_ , thought Ellie but then she felt a little silly. There was nothing between Riley and Ellie, there had been nothing but friendship for years.

“Some space gossip, nothing much” said Ellie

Abby narrowed her eyes. She wasn’t amused.

“Just catching up” said Riley “speaking of which, Ellie tells me you like baking sometimes”

“Just for my kids” said Abby “nothing professional”

“Ellie thinks otherwise” said Riley

“She does?” asked Abby, smiling.

“Of course I do, you are great at that” said Ellie and put a hand on Abby’s back

Abby examined Ellie’s face in search of something and Ellie didn’t know what it was.

“Are you trying to trick me into forgetting you were all secretive here just now?” asked Abby

“As if you never have some secrets with your friends” said Ellie

“I am quite open” said Abby “isn’t that what we are always talking, bing honest and all that?”

“Trust me, on this thing, we better wait until later” whispered Ellie to Abby’s ear

Abby still seemed suspicious

"You are not going to enjoy discussing _this_ type of thing publicly" whispered Ellie and rose an eyebrow

“Ok, I’ll trust you” said Abby, and it seemed now she understood

“You know, the first time Ellie told me about you two I was so surprised” said Riley

“Because of our history?” asked Abby

“Yeah, I mean, who knew, you fight and fight and then at some point you kiss I guess? And when she told me about how you had the dinner to meet Dina, that was hilarious” said Riley

“What did she tell you?” asked Abby and swallowed

“Not many details, just how Dina and you were surprised to see each other and all about your nicknames” said Riley “that was just amazing”

“Yeah… it was unexpected” recognized Abby 

“That you and Ellie have the same taste in women? Not that unexpected” joked Riley

Abby and Ellie chuckled.

“True” said Ellie “I have something to check, will be back in a minute”

She kissed Abby’s cheek and left both her and Riley there. At some point they had to get to know each other. She found the present Riley left her and put it in their room. She then came back to see that Abby and Riley were chatting quite happily about training routines and such things. 

_Cool_ , thought Ellie and decided to go see what Dina was up to. She saw that Dina was talking with Nora, Joel, Jesse, Talia, Lydia and Xyla so she went to them. However, on the way there someone talked to her.

“Mom, isn’t it true that you play the guitar too?” said JJ. They were talking with Jennifer, Yara, Lev, Leah and Manny.

“Yeah, I do” said Ellie

“See” said JJ

“Never seen you play” said Lev

“Now that we are all living here you will” said Ellie

“Looking forwards to hearing that” said Yara

“You play the guitar, really?” asked Manny “I find it hard to believe”

“Why?” asked Ellie

“I mean, you are an astronaut, you paint” said Leah and pointed at the paintings in the walls “you practice karate and on top of that you play the guitar? Sounds like too much”

“I don’t do it all at the same time” clarified Ellie and laughed

“To me it’s really the fact that I can’t imagine you serenading Abby or Dina, you look like the thought type” said Manny

Ellie blinked and was about to answer when she felt someone hugging her from behind. From the height and her distinctive but pleasant smell, that someone could only be Abby.

“But she did” said Abby and kissed Ellie’s head “to both of us actually, the first time we all went on a date for example. I imagine she serenaded Dina many times before” 

“I did” said Ellie. 

Ellie looked to the side and up and saw Abby looking down at her tenderly.

“Oooh, so romantic” said Leah “I honestly didn’t see any of you like that”

“People can surprise you” said Ellie and shrugged smugly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I am taking this long in posting them, hope to finish posting soon  
> Comments are very welcomed!


	17. Dina

Dina woke up sore from their adventurous but exciting new toys they had experimented with the previous night. She stood up and went to the kitchen, avoiding the boxes of unopened presents from their housewarming party. 

In the guest room, Jesse and Xyla were still asleep, as well as Yara, Lev and JJ in their respective rooms. 

Dina was preparing tea when she saw a small package. She recognized the signature and opened it. There were two silicone tea bags, one with the shape of a dinosaur and one with the shape of lightning, and a small foldable silicone cup for coffee. Riley did know them quite well or at least she tried. Abby had been slightly apprehensive when meeting Riley but it seemed they clicked and so Ellie had nothing to worry about. It did seem that at the beginning Abby was slightly jealous but then Dina was surprised later to see them both very engaged in what seemed a friendly chat. Dina was content, it had been a good party and it seemed their friends would get along. She then saw another package and knew from the envelope in the package, it had to be from Talia. She went to check it and opened it. 

_ You already have one, and I know you gave yours to Ellie on her first space mission so now you have others for the rest of your family.  _

_ Love _

_ Talia _

Dina smiled and opened. She gasped and cried a little. They were hamsa bracelets. One for JJ, one for Dina, one for Abby, one for Lev and another for Yara. They had come such a long way since the first day Talia had known that Dina was dating Ellie. 

When Dina talked to Talia to tell her about finally managing to kiss Ellie and how excited she was that Ellie liked her back, Talia had been less than thrilled. She had told her that why would she waste years of relationship with a good guy like Jesse.

_ “Since when do you like women?” _ , Talia had asked

Dina had not taken that lightly. She was so thrilled, she had a crush on Ellie for years, she was happy and had wanted to share with her sister this happiness. She wasn’t in the mood for anything else than celebration and congratulations.

“ _ What does it matter? I liked her for years, you knew this _ ”, Dina had said. 

“ _ I thought it was just a passing feeling, something that eventually would go away, that you were just confused… like sometimes you see a girl and you like her but it’s just that you find her cool, some of my friends have had this before and eventually they all end up with men _ ”, Talia had replied “ _ It’s just admiration, you did not need to take this feelings that seriously _ ”

Dina had been shocked at this but then she had become angry.

“ _ I know what I feel! I really like Ellie and this is not just some passing feelings I like her for real _ ”, Dina had replied

“ _ It will go away, in the meantime you are wasting your time and instead should try and forget Ellie and regain Jesse, he is a better person _ ”, Talia had said.

“ _ How can you say that? I am telling you I like Ellie, Jesse and I don’t like each other anymore, we have not liked each other in years! _ ”, Dina had replied “ _ Why can’t you be happy for me? _ ”

“ _ Because this isn’t a real relationship! _ ”, Talia had said.

“ _ Fuck you _ ”, Dina had said and left her sister at that cafe where they had met. 

Since that day they did not speak for months. Four months later Dina knew about her pregnancy and Jesse and Ellie were there to support her, even though Ellie had been worried sick about Joel and his slow recovery. Exactly on the day following their kiss was the date Ellie had found Joel and Abby in that alley. Joel had been in a coma all this time and Dina had imagined that all the puking and nausea was related to stress, but had suspected that something else was happening since her period had not come. On the day she finally went to be tested was the same day that Joel woke up. Ellie had been so happy but then DIna’s results came. It had been a shock for them both but Ellie had told her that she would respect whatever decision Dina would make. She thought about it for a week and decided to keep the baby. They had called Jesse to let him know and he had said he would be there on the weekend so they could discuss how this was going to go. They had gone to visit Joel and the doctor had said they were finally seeing some improvement and that maybe in two weeks or so he could be released.

“ _ Hey kiddo _ ” Joel had said

Ellie had just cried and hugged him lightly, to avoid hurting him.

“ _ I’m just so relieved _ ” Ellie had said

“ _ Glad to see you are improving _ ”, Dina had said 

Ellie had looked at her and Dina had nodded. 

“ _ Uhm… we have some news,”  _ Ellie had said nervously  _ “we are having a baby” _

Joel had tried to sit and blinked. Then, he had smiled.

“ _ Really? Congratulations!” _ Joel had said “ _ these are amazing news, you have to tell me if you need any help, advice, anything at all _ ”

Joel had been so happy for them and they had relaxed immediately seeing his reaction to the news. A day after that she had received a call from Talia. Hoping for the best, she had answered.

“ _ Dina! You are becoming a mother, congratulations! _ ” Talia had said

Dina had smiled and her hopes had risen at those greetings.

“ _ Yes! Ellie and I are a bit scared but she’s been great in all of this _ ”, Dina had said

“ _ Uhm… what about Jesse?” _ , Talia had asked

“ _ He’s ok, he’s been great too, he comes and helps around the house, takes care of me when I need him but I live with Ellie _ ” Dina had replied. She had been still hopeful, expecting that Talia only wanted to know if Jesse wanted to be involved in this.

“ _ Ok… but this changes things, right? _ ”, Talia had asked

“ _ In what way? _ ”, Dina had asked nervously and prayed that her sister was not going to say what she feared her to say.

“ _ Jesse and you, I mean, you are going to be parents, it’s his, isnt’t it? _ ”, Talia had asked

“ _ Yes and he agreed to help but it’s going to be mine and Ellie’s kid, I am with Ellie _ ”, Dina had clarified and still hoped her sister would just stop with this. 

“ _ Now, that is just absurd. Dina, grow up, leave the games and do what is right, give this kid a normal family. Marry Jesse, have the kid and stop fooling around _ ”, Talia had said.

Dina had hung up. Talia had called again and Dina had blocked her number. 

“ _ Babe, guess what? Joel told me he still has Sarah’s crib and some of her baby clothes, we can maybe use some of them… babe? _ ” Ellie had said when she entered the room “ _ What happened?” _

“ _ It’s just my stupid sister...I hate her _ ”, Dina had replied and cried

“ _ Babe… I’m sorry _ ”, Ellie had said and hugged her.

Dina had cried a lot and Ellie had massaged her and given her hot chocolate. Days later Jesse, Ellie and Dina were discussing different things.

“ _ I can help painting the room _ ” Jesse had said “ _ by the way mom and dad are coming next week, they already told me they bought baby linen and other things to fit the crib Joel is giving you and lots of maternity clothes and- _ ”

“ _ Wow! Tell them to chill _ ” Ellie had said  _ “we don’t have such a big place yet _ ” 

Dina had laughed

“ _ Jesse’s parents? Chilling about having a grandchild? Unlikely _ ” Dina had said laughing “ _ if we don’t stop them they would probably buy diaper supplies for a year or so _ ”

“ _ Well… about that... _ ” Jesse had said

“ _ What? They did already?” _ Ellie had asked

Jesse had nodded and Dina had just decided to chill herself and accept all these pouring of love coming from them. It felt nice to see that they appreciated the situation and that they respected Ellie and Dina in all this. It had been nice to see how accepting Joel was too, he was even carving a small guitar already. 

“ _ That is just too much, they should-” _ , Ellie had started to say but then her phone rang and she looked alarmed at it. 

“ _ Uhm, can you guys give me a minute?” _ Ellie had said, sounding stressed.

“ _ Ok” _ , Jesse had replied but he had looked confused and Dina had felt there was something odd happening.

Ellie had not given them time to ask, she had just gone to another room and closed the door.

“ _ Who do you think it is?” _ , Jesse had asked

“ _ I don’t know, I hope it is not related to the Abby thing” _ Dina had replied “ _ She has been obsessed with that woman but it’s like she vanished _ ”

“ _ Yeah, and if she is that strong then maybe is better to let her go, we have no proof and Joel is not going to testify” _ , Jesse had replied

“ _ It’s amazing, how come there is no recording of her, how did she manage not to be noticed by any cameras, amazing _ ” Dina had said and then looked at the door of the room Ellie was in.

Unable to resist the curiosity she had gone near the door, ignoring Jesse’s complaints. She had opened the door, just enough to be able to hear Ellie.

“ _ I’m really sorry you see things this way but please stop calling if you are not ready to support us _ ” Ellie had said and then quieted, probably hearing what the other person was saying, then she continued “ _ No, that is not the right thing, we love each other, this is no game, how many times do I have to say this? I love Dina and she loves me, she doesn’t love Jesse, he is our friend, please try and understand this, your sister needs support not this…. Please just stop, I am not keeping Dina from you! You are doing this all on your own… I am not separating your family, you are by not understanding us… You know what, bye” _

Ellie had hung up and then sighed. She had put a hand on her face and sighed again. Dina had come in and closed the door behind her. Ellie had turned around alarmed.

“ _ Since when? _ ” Dina had asked

“ _ Dina she just wanted to talk- _ ” Ellie had said

“ _ Since when?” _ Dina had asked again, firmly.

_ “Since you blocked her number” _ , Ellie had replied

“ _ Why are you talking to her? _ ” Dina had asked

“ _ Because…”  _ Ellie had tried to reply “ _ I’m sorry I didn’t tell you but… I almost lost Joel and she’s family, what if something happens? When she called me I had to try to make her understand… I hoped that if we talked eventually she would but… I don’t know, maybe it’s a lost cause… I’m sorry” _

Dina had sighed and then sat on the bed. She knew that Ellie was right and she understood her reasoning but at that time she just wanted anyone who wasn’t ready to celebrate with her to just evaporate and not talk to them. She could not deal with her sister at the moment. 

“ _ Fine _ ” Dina had said in the end “ _ Want to talk to her, do so, just don’t give me the phone when you are with her, even if she begs, I don’t want to talk to her at the moment. If she’s going to be an obnoxious ass about all this then that is her choice _ ”

“ _ And if she is truly sorry and wants to apologize… even then? _ ”, Ellie had asked

“ _ She won’t be sorry _ ”, Dina had said

“ _ But what if one day she is?” _ , Ellie had insisted

“ _ I’ll think about it” _ , Dina had replied 

“ _ Ok”  _ Ellie had replied “ _ I’m sorry” _

Dina had known that what Ellie did was the best possible to try and help but at the moment she had been so angry she just did not want to talk about it so she just asked Ellie to deal with it on her own and not involve her for the time being. Six months after JJ was born, Ellie had finally found a lead on Abby and abandoned her. Even though Ellie had said she would be back, DIna had felt betrayed. What if she died? At that moment the only thing Dina knew about Abby was that she was a thug who would have murdered Joel had Ellie not stopped her. Dina had been devastated but she had received support from Jesse, his family, even Joel, Tommy and Maria. 

A week after Ellie’s departure Dina received a call from an unknown number.

“ _ Hello?” _ Dina had asked

“ _ Hi, please, don’t hung up, please _ ” Talia had said

“ _ I don’t have time for this _ ” Dina had said

_ “Please, please, just listen, just a second _ ” Talia had begged

_ “If you are calling to tell me ‘I told you’ so you can go fuck yourself” _ , Dina had replied

“ _ No! I… I’m not, I swear” _ said Talia “ _ I just wanted to say that I am here for you, if you let me, I am sorry for everything, I really am _ ” Talia had said

Dina had been surprised but unconvinced.

“ _ Prove it” _ , Dina had said

“ _ How? I’ll do anything” _ Talia had said

“ _ Come”  _ Dina had replied

“ _ I’ll be there tomorrow” _ Talia had replied

Talia lived far away but she had abandoned everything, asked for her vacations that she had not taken in years to go and be with her sister for two months. She had helped around the house, she had not complained even once about Dina’s terrible moods. Jesse, Joel, Maria and Tommy were taking turns to help around with JJ while Dina worked and studied. They had all really been there for her. Then Ellie came back but Dina had not been ready to forgive her, not immediately. A day after Ellie had come back, Talia had just put JJ to sleep and Dina was sitting on the sofa after finishing her homework when Talia brought her food.

“ _ Thanks _ ”, Dina had said “ _ can you believe her, coming back after a month of just going after some stupid lead, fucking Ellie” _

Talia had said nothing. She had just pressed her lips

“ _ I’m talking to you” _ , Dina had said  _ “this is your chance to tell me what you really think of Ellie and you are not taking it, really?” _

_ “Do you really want to know? Or do you want to berate her?” _ , Talia had asked

“ _ Fuck you, you hated her and now I give you a chance to complain with me and you don’t take it because you are too good or something?” _ , Dina had asked

“ _ You know I have been talking over the phone with her for months” _ Talia had said “ _ I was wrong about her” _

_ “Oh really, enlighten me please” _ , Dina had said sarcastically “ _ what were you suddenly wrong about in regards to Ellie?” _

_ “She… she is a good person, Dina” _ , Talia had said

“ _ A good person? Are you fucking me? Ellie? She abandoned me with a six month old child, you always said I chose wrong and now that I am telling you that you might have been right you suddenly think Ellie was a good person? Unbelievable” _ Dina had said

“ _ I know you are angry at her, and you have all the right in the world to be angry at her… but all these months she was patient enough to talk to me… only because she did not want you to lose your connection with me, she is kind, empathetic and I do think that despite what she did… she loves you”  _ Talia had said

Dina had not said anything anymore and just eaten and then slept. After that she had other discussions with Talia, where Talia mentioned how talking with Ellie had made her understand that Dina and Ellie loved each other and how Talia’s ideals of a family were not universal and in the end Ellie had convinced Talia to try and understand and she had tried, so eventually Dina had decided to talk to Ellie again and slowly become acquaintances again. The process of taking Ellie back took some effort and patience but they did in the end manage to be together again. Dina was sure that without Talia’s intervention, it would all have taken even longer for her to forgive Ellie.

Her relationship with Talia had improved a lot since then. Then years down the line when Dina and Ellie opened their relationship Dina feared what could happen with Talia. It had taken some time but her sister was now very happy for them. Dina had never really told Talia she had opened her marriage, she had been afraid of her sister’s reaction to that but when Abby became part of their lives that dreaded talk could be postponed no more. It had been a disaster and it took them quite a long time until Talia came around. It was hard for Talia too because she had to break up with many friends she had known for ages but Talia said she would just go and meet others, she was strong like that. She actually did find a group of inclusive Jewish people and she seemed to be doing quite well there. Dina felt sorry for what her sister had to sacrifice for her but was also very thankful for her presence in her life anyway. 

“Good morning” said Yara

“Oh, so early” said Dina, turning around to see her coming to the kitchen.

“I’m boiling water for tea, do you want it?” asked Dina

“Sure” said Yara “I saw one of your friends gave you some new boxes of tea, what options do we have?”

“Come and choose” said Dina, opened the boxes and gave them to her

“Good morning” said Ellie coming into the kitchen and looking terribly tired

“Good morning” said Yara 

Ellie came and kissed Dina.

“Oh, this one is actually a cookie box… wait there are actually two cookie boxes” said Yara

“Do they have actual cookies inside?” asked Lev coming to the kitchen “Good morning, by the way”

"Good morning", said Dina and checked her phone because it was vibrating

Yara opened the boxes and gasped.

“They do” said Yara surprised

“What, really?” asked Lev and came to look “Wow, it’s real”

Ellie looked at them confused

“What were you expecting to find inside those boxes?” asked Ellie

“Oh, mom always used to have buttons, threads and needles inside these things and she wasn’t the only one, I never once saw cookies inside these boxes” said Lev

“Never?” asked Ellie

They both shook their heads

“Wow, strange” said Ellie

“I was told by my classmates that it is actually pretty common, depending on your background” said Yara

“Interesting, never experienced that myself” admitted Ellie

“What did you never experience?” asked Dina, who had been distracted by some messages from work she had received.

“The fact that these have something else but cookies” said Lev and showed Dina

“Oh, that is so common” said Dina “in fact, I’m keeping those two when we are done with the cookie”

“Why?” asked Ellie

“It’s good to recycle” said Dina and shrugged

“Good morning” said Abby, almost singing.

She was happy, her hair was done in her customary braid and she looked so smart in general. Ellie and Dina’s hair was still a mess and they were still quite sleepy after the party last night but Abby was bright and shiny. 

“You know what, I’m disgusted by you now” complained Ellie “how the hell do you look this good in the morning?”

“I’m confused” said Abby “was that a compliment but wrapped inside an insult?”

“Yup” said Dina drinking her tea “classic morning Ellie. I get it all the time the days I go for my early morning run. She’s only in a better morning mood whenever she is about to go to another space mission”

“Seriously, you look like you just came out of one of those sport magazines, it’s unbelievable” said Ellie pointing at Abby

“Get a room” said Lev and ate more cookies

“You should say, go to your room, that would have sounded more fun” said JJ as they came into the kitchen “Good morning everyone”

JJ looked at Abby. 

“Oh, so I see another morning person is now living in this house too, nice” said JJ and high-fived Abby

“Ugh” said Ellie and rolled her eyes “how much of a morning person can you be? You just came now”

“I was getting ready, you know this mom, this takes work” said JJ pointing at themselves and their look, matter of factly, and grabbed a cookie from the open box

“These are actually not that interesting” said JJ “I was so curious when I saw these boxes at grandma’s and then you tried them and… not that big of a deal”

“I think they are fine” said Yara “I still prefer homemade though”

“Me too” said Lev and looked at Abby “chocolate chip cookies”

“I prefer lemon cookies” said Yara and also looked at Abby

“I prefer sponge cake if we are talking about favorite stuff” said JJ, not understanding what Lev and Yara were doing

“Ok, ok” said Abby “I’ll make cookies, not sure about the sponge cake but I can try”

“Oh” said JJ and then understood “I see… Abby, doll, don’t worry about it, I wasn’t asking you to do that”

“No, it’s fine, I can try” said Abby

“I can help” said Ellie

Dina went near Abby and whispered to her

“I wouldn’t accept that if I were you”

“I can hear you” said Ellie “I don’t suck that much at baking”

“Ellie, babe, you have plenty of amazing qualities, this isn’t one of them” said Dina. She gave Ellie a kiss in the cheek and then went to sit and continued drinking her tea.

“I can give you the list of ingredients and you can get them for me” suggested Abby

Ellie narrowed her eyes at Abby

“It’s a way to help” said Abby

“Fine” said Ellie, annoyed

Abby started preparing coffee for herself and then wrote down the list of ingredients and gave them to Ellie. Ellie went to get them and Dina helped Abby with the cookies and sponge cake while JJ and Ellie were playing a video game against Lev and Yara. 

Jesse and Xyla woke up and also drank Abby’s coffee like the weirdoes they were and stayed in the kitchen talking with Abby and Dina. Then they helped prepare some food for later.

“Alright” said Abby “I think now we just need to wait for the cake to cool down. I’m going to go change” 

“Yeah, I should change too” said Dina “we are both covered in flour”

“We can prepare the rest here for the picnic” said Jesse

“Yeah, go get changed” said Xyla

“Thanks” said Dina and went after Abby

When she went in, Abby was already taking off her t-shirt.

“You didn’t plan this through, now your hair is covered in flour too” said Dina and touched Abby’s hair

“I have to wash then” said Abby and shrugged

“Want me to join” suggested Dina and looked at her while biting her lower lip

“I don’t know if we have time” said Abby but she blushed and that was just so lovely

“Nobody said we have to make this too long” said Dina suggestively

Abby smiled and looked at her

“Ok” whispered Abby

First they showered. Abby washed her lovely long hair and they playfully helped each other with the soap. They laughed while they put soap on each other.

“Forgot that spot” said Dina and laughed “now let’s remove that soap”

Dina pointed the handheld shower head at her and turned it on.

“Ouch, that’s cold” said Abby and laughed “give me that”

“Not before I get that soap out of you” said Dina playfully and continued to point at Abby

“Now it’s all gone already, just give me that”

Abby took the shower head from her hand and pointed it at Dina but Dina had regulated the temperature and now it was lukewarm.

“Funny, I think it’s nice” said Dina and removed the soap

“What?” said Abby and tried the water “you are such a cheat”

Then Dina grabbed the shower head.

“Oh but you like it when I cheat in these games” said Dina and pointed the water at Abby’s vulva

Abby gasped. Dina smiled at Abby and came closer.

“That is actually nice” said Abby appreciatively

“I know” said Dina in a low voice

“We probably shouldn’t be wasting water” said Abby with a bit of difficulty, the pace of her breathing had increased already.

“Ok” said Dina and turned the water off but then immediately she put a hand on Abby’s folds. 

Abby gasped again and put a hand on Dina’s shoulder and laid against the wall as Dina fucked her. Dina came closer and kissed her neck and Abby moaned. Abby put her hands on Dina’s back and pushed her closer and kissed her and then she came with a loud moan. Dina was about to continue when Abby put her against the wall and kissed her. Then she kissed her neck, her breasts, her belly, her navel and then went down on Dina. Now Dina was the one panting and moaning while holding Abby’s shoulders and laying against the wall. Dina closed her eyes and came with a very indecent grunt. Then Abby stood up and suggestively cleaned her face.

“I guess we need to shower again” said Abby smiling “we are all sweaty”

“I have no problem with that” said Dina

  
  


They showered and then dressed, still kissing a bit but rushing as well because they had things to put away for the picnic. Once everything was done they all decided to go for a trip to the lake, they took several boats and rowed there for a while. 

Abby and Dina looked at each other conspiratorially and Ellie just shook her head, she probably remembered what Dina had told her about Abby and the boat sex. 

“It’s a pity we are so many now, had it been just the three of us” said Dina

“Dina!” said Ellie, pretending to be alarmed. 

“Shut up, you would have loved that”, said Dina.

They laughed.

“From what you told me we would need a bigger boat for the three of us” joked Ellie

Dina looked pensive   


“Uhm… what do you say?” she asked Abby

“Uuh… are you serious?” asked Abby

“Of course” said Dina

“I don’t know” admitted Abby

“Use your imagination” said Dina “think about all the thrusting and moving and-”

“I can make a picture in my head just fine, no input needed” said Abby blushing

“Well, I wasn’t sure you know” said Dina

Abby sighed.

“Ok, uhm… maybe we would need… other type of boat, not a rowing boat in this case… but then what would be the fun? I mean, this lake is small, maybe on a bigger lake...” said Abby

“Sounds like a plan” said Ellie

“You two are terrible” said Abby

“Don’t pretend you aren’t as kinky” teased Dina

Abby just shook her head and smiled.

It seemed they would be having a great day. Then they went to walk around the park. Suddenly a small girl came towards them. 

“Have you seen my papa?” asked her. She must have been around 3 years old. 

“No, what is his name?” asked Dina, kneeling in front of the kid trying to be face to face with her.

“Papa” said the girl as if Dina was being silly. Dina smiled.

“Of course, how does he look?” said Ellie

“He is tall, and happy, he is smiles like this” said the girl and smiled

“What is your name?” asked Dina

“Mia” said the little girl

Abby tried not to laugh then said.

“We can go to the info center, that post over there and we ask for your dad there, ok?” said Abby

“Sure” said the girl and went with Abby, Ellie and Dina. 

The info center had a small microphone and the person there used it to call for the father of the little child and indicated where she would be waiting. They sat together and asked if the girl needed anything and she said she would love popcorn and juice so Ellie went to get it. 

In the meantime the father came. Dina realized the day had been too good to remain so. It was that fucking Owen. They had not seen him in years and of course he had to be the dad of that adorable little girl. Dina was happy it was her who was there because Ellie would have probably wanted to punch him had she seen him but he seemed so worried and then thankful to them once he saw the girl that she felt slightly sorry for him.

“I’m so sorry honey, you just ran, why did you ran?” said Owen

“There were clowns!” complained Mia

“You should have told me so that we would have gone away” said Owen

“Ok” said the girl and looked down. He hugged her and then, still holding her hand went to Abby and Dina.

“I don’t know how to thank you, I am so sorry to bother you” said Owen

“It’s ok” said Abby. She seemed oddly collected despite the situation.

“No, I am really thankful, how can I repay you?” said Owen

“What about by disappearing” murmured Dina

“Sorry?” asked Owen

“Nothing” said Abby but she looked at Dina amusingly, at least she was not angry at her.

“Ok, well, I am grateful and I am also happy to see you are doing great. Where is…?” said Owen

“Here they are” said Ellie then noticed it was Owen. Ellie was frozen, it seemed her brain was confused about whether she should hit this asshole or not but then the little girl was here so she probably didn’t want to hit her dad.

“Oh, there you are” said Owen “I wanted to thank you too”

“The lady doesn’t know your name is papa” said Mia

“That is because only you can call me papa, I am Owen for the rest, we talked about this” said Owen amusingly

“Oh” said Mia

“Well, glad you found your kid. We are probably going to go back to our family” said Dina

“Do you want to join us?” asked Abby. Dina and Ellie looked at her questioningly

“Sure” said Owen and smiled “Mia, do you want to join them?”

“Yes!” smiled Mia

Dina and Ellie looked at each other but then just left with them. When Jesse, Xyla, JJ, Jennifer, Lev and Yara saw Owen they also looked puzzled.

“Wasn’t that the dude that almost took her away last time we had a picnic?” murmured Jennifer to JJ

JJ nodded   


“Hope he doesn’t do that again” whispered JJ

“Hello, I am Owen” said Owen “This is Mia”

“Hi, Jesse” said Jesse and he shook his hands “this is Xyla”

“Pleasure to meet you” said Xyla

Ellie looked at them both as if they were traitors and Jesse was completely confused.

“These are JJ and Jennifer” said Abby

“Hello” said JJ and Jennifer and waved at him awkwardly

“Hi” said Yara and ate her lemon cookies. She was not into this guy either.

“Hello” said Lev and waved “Mia looks more like Mel now”

“She does, doesn’t she?” said Owen

“I look like myself” said Mia and pouted

“You do, honey, you do” said Dina, calmly 

Mia smiled at Dina

“Want to try some lemon pie?” asked Jennifer to the girl

Mia looked at her. Jennifer looked a bit spooky but it seemed that Mia was not entirely scared.

“Are you a vampire princess?” asked Mia

JJ chuckled 

“She sort of is” said JJ

“Don’t lie to the child” protested Jennifer but it seemed she was amused

Mia looked at her dad

“Just a little bit” said Owen

Mia smiled, opened her hands and came near Jennifer. Jennifer put a piece of lemon pie in a plate and gave it to her. Mia took it and gladly ate it. Dina would have sworn that Jennifer softened a lot while looking at Mia. 

“Do you want a piece of pie too?” asked Jennifer to Owen  


Owen looked around. Abby nodded encouragingly.

“Sure” said Owen “let’s try that”

Dina offered that they should all sit and they did, the only one who did so reluctantly was Ellie. She was not at all amused at having this guy just appear once more. Dina herself was not so happy to see him here.

“So, you are friends with Abby, we met some at the party yesterday” said Jesse

“Yeah, why didn’t you come?” asked Xyla

“He was Abby’s ex” said Lev simply. 

He then ate one chocolate chip cookie and attentively observed Abby and Owen.  Yara was about to hit him in the side but she just rolled her eyes and put a hand on her face. She then whistled something no one but Lev understood. He looked at her and whistled back.

Abby sighed but then she chuckled. Owen just opened his mouth and looked mortified.

“It’s true but that was years ago, we are just old friends now” said Abby

Dina and Ellie observed her attentively. She didn’t seem to be bullshiting, in fact she looked quite relaxed. 

“Yes, nothing but friends” said Owen

_ This is new _ , thought Dina, s _ he doesn’t seem to be lying and neither does he. Interesting _

“What is ex?” asked Mia

“It means previous, something that happened before” said JJ

Mia looked even more confused. 

“A person happened before?” asked Mia

“Something like that, honey” said Owen

“I don’t understand” said Mia

“You see, mom and dad, we used to be together, so I am mom’s ex” said Owen “and before mom, dad also was with someone else, that was Abby here”

Mia nodded and thought about this. 

“And now you are not?” asked Mia

“No” said Owen

“Ok” said Mia and ate more pie “why are you whistling?”

She was pointing at Lev and Yara. Surprised, they looked at her and pointed at themselves, looking confused. Mia nodded.

“It’s a language” said Lev

“Can I learn?” asked Mia

“We can try to teach you” said Yara and smiled “since you are the only one here who wants to know”

“I thought you enjoyed your secret sibling’s language” protested Abby

“Maybe we do but you could at least have asked once” said Lev

“You would have said no” said Abby and put her hands in her waist

“True” said Yara and shrugged

“Then what would have been the point?” asked Abby

“Probably to annoy you” said Ellie

“It would be nice if she showed some curiosity over our costumes” said Lev

“I do but just said you wouldn’t have taught me anyway” said Abby

“Hey” said Mia to Lev and Yara “teach me”

“Ok” said Yara and whistled “try that”

Mia tried

Yara and Lev chuckled but then Yara showed her again. She did this many times until Mia could do it slightly right. They were busy teaching her for a while so Dina focused on how Owen and Abby talked with Jesse and Xyla. JJ was busy talking with Jennifer.

It seemed they all had relaxed now after the first shock of Owen’s arrival. They all seemed to get along nicely, even Lev seemed quite calm about the whole deal. Everyone except Ellie. It seemed like Ellie was having a hard time understanding what the fuck was going on. Dina sat near Ellie and whispered to her.

“I mean, if we think about it, Jesse is also my ex” whispered Dina

“Yeah but you have not been hung up on him for forever, we have been married for ages” said Ellie

“I know” said Dina “but I think she seems to be really over him”

“I don’t know” said Ellie

“I think she seems calm around him, she’s not awkward and you know she’s bad at hiding when she’s feeling out of place. It seems like she is fine” said Dina

Ellie sighed

“She does, doesn’t she?” said Ellie “then why am I still jealous?”

“Oh well, these things are not so easy” said Dina “the good part is that we normally can deal with them if we talk about it”

“I know, I just wish he evaporated or something” said Ellie

“I know your frustration but try and keep this for later, we will have our time to talk to her” said Dina

Ellie looked at her and smiled tenderly. She caressed Dina’s cheek.

“What would I do without you?” said Ellie dreamily

Dina smiled at her and caressed that hand.

“Go to your room” said Lev

“No, boo, that is not funny here, only at home” said JJ

“Whatever, they understood” said Lev and shrugged

Dina and Ellie just chuckled.

The rest of the afternoon went quite ok. Eventually Owen, Mia, Jesse and Xyla left. The rest went back home and ate some of what was left from the day before as dinner. When they were about to go to sleep Ellie sat in the bed and looked at Abby suspiciously. Dina knew that despite their talk Ellie was still apprehensive. Abby went to shower and then after she got dressed she finally looked back at Ellie. 

“So?” asked Ellie

Abby shrugged, pretending she did not understand her.

“What was that?” asked Ellie

“I was just inviting him, Mia seemed adorable” said Abby

“Are you two talking again?” asked Dina, but she did not felt as furious as Ellie seemed to feel.

“No” said Abby “but I think it could be time to do that again” 

“Why?” asked Ellie

“Well, I did say years ago that if eventually there were no more complicated feelings we could try. Today when I saw him I realized… we have both moved on, finally” said Abby as she sat next to Ellie “I have to thank you both for that, and for your patience with me on this”

Dina felt slightly moved by that comment. From her reaction, Dina could tell that Ellie was taken aback but she was also moved. Abby smiled at her and held her hand.

“I have to admit I found it cute how you are still jealous of him” admitted Abby with malice in her voice

“Did you do this on purpose?” asked Ellie

“No, I just think it was the right time, we are well established, and it felt right to invite him, as a friend” said Abby

“Ok, I respect that” said Dina “but we were really shocked. What are the odds of us meeting him by accident, was he following us?”

“No, it was chance, he doesn’t live too far from here, so I think it can happen but you have nothing to worry about” said Abby and laughed

“This isn’t funny" complained Ellie

  
  


“I am just flattered" said Abby, teasingly "honestly I am. To think that you believe I might go with him when I am busy enough with you both" 

"Are you?" said Ellie and tried to sound menacing

"I have the feeling you aren't busy enough" said Dina, trying to emulate Ellie’s tone of voice and seem menacing

"We should probably do something about that" said Ellie and pushed Abby to the bed.

Abby smiled knowingly, and it was obvious that made Ellie even more hot as she stared at her daringly. Even when Ellie was on top of her, Abby never seemed like she had lost control of the situation but rather as she was exactly where she wanted. Dina went to the bed, crawling in all fours, she went to grab Abby's wrists and faced her from the opposite direction. Then kissed her deeply, making her gasp. Ellie sat on top of Abby and held her legs. Then she removed her own shirt and looked down at Abby and then at Dina. She kissed Dina while she was still holding Abby's wrists. Then they both undressed Abby and she enjoyed the treatment she was receiving. They kissed and caressed her and made her gasp, and moan and come. Then they took turns sitting on her face while they kissed each other. In the end they were quite tired but satisfied.

"Damn, it's a pity I don't have another ex I can call so you two can punish me more often" teased Abby

"You want more punishment? Maybe we can do it more often, then" said Dina

"Yeah, but first, you have to confess" said Ellie and teasingly touched Abby's neck

"Yeah, what terrible things have you done? Maybe we can purge you from evil" teased Dina

Abby laughed.

"Is this a thing now? Are we really doing this?" Abby asked

"If that's what turns you on" said Ellie shrugging

"I'm up for experimentation" said Dina

Abby smirked. Maybe she was up for it too. 


	18. Abby

The moment Dina and Ellie walked to the house that day Dina went to pick her up, Abby knew their hairs and clothes looked too much of a mess for them not to have done something on the way home. So it was no surprise when they told her they went by their old house and probably fucked around everywhere. Abby understood and really had no problems with that but she still felt a little pang of jealousy. She tried to clarify it was ok but after putting Ellie to sleep and going back to the kitchen where Dina was she knew Dina caught her. 

“So, you wanna talk?” asked Dina

“It’s fine, really” said Abby

“Abby, it’s not fine” said Dina

Abby sighed

“Ok, I’m a bit jealous but… it happens ok, it is less than before” said Abby “I swear”

“It’s fine, you have the right to feel these things” said Dina “but please stop pretending and stop hiding it all” 

“I know” said Abby, grabbed Dina’s hand and squeezed it slightly, “I’m trying”

“That is what is important” said Dina

“It’s just that you two have such a long history… I’m still the new  _ addition _ , I don’t know” said Abby

Dina chuckled

“Oh, dear, what a high opinion of yourself… You are not a lego piece that got embedded into this family or something. You are our Abby” said Dina “we love you. I love you”

“Love you too but” Abby sighed again “I can't help but sometimes feel that I am just making things more complicated for you two for no reason”

“No, that is just some bullshit, Abby!” said Dina and approached Abby

“Don’t say that” said Dina and caressed her face “you are part of this family”

Abby smiled at Dina

“Thank you” said Abby “I just sometimes have my doubts”

“And I am glad you are telling me, so we can talk” said Dina

Dina kissed her, tenderly and sweetly. Abby put her hands around Dina and hugged her while they kissed. 

“How are those doubts now?” whispered Dina and kissed her more

“If we keep this up” whispered Abby “they might soon vanish”

Dina chuckled and kissed her more. They continued kissing, hugging and laughing over silly things until it was late and they both went to bed.

Ellie rested most of the following day while Abby and Dina prepared for the housewarming party. The party went quite fine. Abby didn’t feel like punching at Joel anymore every time she saw him so that was some progress also for her. She also did not feel like talking much to him either but then again, she may need more time for that. At least they were greeting each other somewhat normally. Ellie was visibly nervous about meeting Abby’s friends but she really did not need to worry about it, Abby had already clarified to all of them that if anyone even dreamed of giving Ellie a nasty look she would deal with them personally. She was not in the mood to deal with people getting into her business. It seemed her friends understood and no one said anything out of the ordinary to either Ellie or Dina. What she was not expecting was those odd, clearly flirtatious looks between Dina and Leah. She almost wanted to slap Leah but then when she said she broke up with Jordan, then Abby thought she had ruined the happy party mood. Luckily Dina was there to change the topic. Abby was a bit apprehensive herself about Ellie’s friends, particularly Riley since she had been Ellie’s first girlfriend but in the end it seemed they both could get along too when talking about training and physical activities. They had a good night, that became even better when their friends were gone. 

Abby thought they also had a great picnic day the following day, although Ellie and Dina were not thrilled at all with Owen's surprise appearance. That had been a shock too for Abby but she was glad to see that neither saw each other that way anymore, that had been a relief indeed. Abby felt ready to try and be friends with him again and that made her happy. Owen had been an important person in her life, why could she not be friends with him if Riley and Jesse were still friends with Ellie and Dina. She hoped that one day he would be a friend of them too. Maybe not in the coming months but someday. 

Somehow seeing how honest Ellie and Dina were about their jealousy and how they turned it onto something playful made Abby even more sure that she was not just an addition as she had said but really a part of this family. Already the fact that they had moved in all together meant a lot for her.

The new house had a nice studio, and they had two desks, one for Abby and another for whenever Ellie was around and had time to paint. Ellie was painting at her desk while Abby was wrapping up the work for the day at her own desk. She opened her agenda and wrote down what she was planning for next week. She was a bit early now so she wondered if she should just continue or try and do something else. She put her laptop inside one of the drawers and cleaned her desk form papers and other things she had been using. Then she started reading the next novel she had planned to read the following day. 

_ Might as well go on ahead _ , thought Abby

She was really immersed in the story of the book so she failed to notice when Ellie finished painting. She did not even notice when Ellie approached her. So when she felt something touching her leg Abby almost jumped from the chair. Then she looked up and saw Ellie smiling with a certain malice in her eyes.

"You know you look so intellectual there, with that finger in your mouth and so focused... as if you are trapped in this book" said Ellie

She looked at Abby's mouth and finger with a very intense stare and with very clear intentions. Ellie was wearing simple clothes but there was something interesting about her painting stained shirt and how relaxed and comfortable with herself she looked in them.

Abby looked down and smiled. She put her book on the desk.

"Really and so you decided to come and see if you can take me away from my story?" teased Abby

Ellie caressed Abby's legs with her own and slowly pushed her leg to the side, widening the distance between her legs.

“You don’t even know if I finished working” joked Abby

Using her other leg, Ellie moved Abby’s other leg to the other side and then she came closer to Abby. She put her hands on Abby’s armchair and came even closer to Abby, until their faces were almost touching. She looked at Abby with intense and lustful eyes.

“I don’t see you complaining now” said Ellie

“I was still reading” said Abby, pretending to be annoyed but actually starting to smile now

“Then push me back” teased Ellie “I’m waiting”

Abby only looked at Ellie as she tilted her head to the other side and came even nearer. She felt her breathing accelerating and also noticed how Ellie’s breathing increased in pace.

“Use those big muscles, you are so ripped, push me away” said Ellie

“If you keep saying that I might, it sounds like you want me to” whispered Abby

“If you don’t stop me I will continue” teased Ellie

“Maybe I want you to” said Abby

Ellie smiled and came even nearer and then waited, since Abby was not pushing her she smiled even more then Abby closed the distance and kissed her. Ellie opened her mouth and Abby kissed her more deeply and then Ellie put her knee on the chair and a hand on Abby’s face while she lowered the other hand down and down until she reached Abby’s t-shirt and helped her remove it. Then Ellie kissed her again and put her hands on Abby’s face and then on her neck, while her other hand went directly for the kill. Faster than what Abby thought possible, Ellie opened her pants, pushed them down with her hands and even with one foot and then put her hands on Abby’s vulva. Abby put her hand on Ellie’s face then her other hand on her back and went underneath her shirt.

“You know” said Ellie, panting “you should consider wearing dresses” 

“No chance in hell” replied Abby, panting as well

“At least for the house” insisted Ellie as she fingered Abby

“Long shirts... and cotton shorts... that is my last offer” said Abby and kissed Ellie

Ellie kissed her deeply and then pulled slightly back

“I can work with that” said Ellie and smiled smugly “easier to remove”

Then she increased the pace and had Abby moaning and over the edge soon after that. Abby put her head back and looked at Ellie. Abby knew the exact moment that Ellie planned on going down on her but she grabbed Ellie’s butt and her back and stood up, holding Ellie. Ellie seemed surprised but amused. She put her on the desk and was happy that she had the good idea to keep her desk clean and that she had bought such a sturdy desk. Ellie tried to sit but Abby pushed her back down and removed her pants and her shirt then she kissed her everywhere, slowly, paying attention to her sensitive areas in the neck, her nipples, her belly and then her vulva. She sucked and licked Ellie to the point where she was squirming, moaning and then grunting. She made sure to make Ellie come at least twice before standing up and looking at her. Ellie was made a mess, her hair was disheveled and she was sweaty but to Abby this was the look of triumph. She had never looked better. She smiled at Ellie and Ellie smiled back at her.

“I love this wild look of yours” admitted Abby

Ellie sat, still breathing harder but looking radiant.

“You should look at yourself, I think that instead of Leia, we should dress you as a valkiria” said Ellie

Abby put a hand at each side of Ellie’s legs and came nearer

“And what makes you think I’m up for this dress up fetiche of yours?” asked Abby

“You can stop pretending” said Ellie ”Dina already sent me the picture”

“What?” asked Abby “I thought she would wait”

“Pfft. How naive of you” said Ellie and kissed Abby’s cheek “didn’t you know we made a bet?”

“Really, so who won? Dina?” asked Abby

Ellie nodded

“So what does it mean, what does she get?” asked Abby

“Me in a red body fishnet” said Ellie and shuddered “not looking forward to doing that”

“Are you kidding me? I am looking forward to seeing that. Are you trying to make me horny again?” asked Abby

“Well, if it works for you” said Ellie and kissed her “I’m up for another round”

“You asked for this” said Abby and kissed her while pushing her back

  
  


After a while they decided they needed a shower so they tried to leave the studio. However when they opened the door they heard and saw JJ, Jennifer, Lev and Yara in the living room having some sort of dispute

“You didn’t need to be so rude” said Lev to JJ

“Boo, I don’t take people’s bullshit and you know it” said JJ

“She is a good person, why did you have to say that?” said Lev

“Lev, she really said something out of place” said Yara

“What could she have said?” asked Lev

“She said, and I quote,’ _ I don’t buy that you are gender fluid, you never express your masculine side, you are just a sissy, you just want the attention _ ’, that’s what Anggie said” said JJ and crossed their arms

Lev looked shocked.

“Did she?” he asked Yara

“She did” said Yara and Jennifer at the same time

“Well, she probably didn’t mean anything hurtful by it, maybe she was just nervous and said some stuff without thinking” said Lev

“Lev, darling, if you want to suffer abuse because you have the hots for her, it doesn’t mean I have to” said JJ firmly

“Fuck you, how can you say that?” said Lev angrily

Abby almost went to them but Ellie stopped her.

“I understand” whispered Ellie “I also want to intervene but they are old enough to deal with their own problems”

So Abby stayed there, listening.

“Lev!” said Yara

“Boo, you are the one who is always so direct, so you have to be ready to receive as hard as you give” said JJ “I don’t like your girl but I’m not asking you to stop dating her, you do whatever the fuck you want”

JJ left to the kitchen after that. Lev remained there with Yara and Jennifer. Lev looked angry but also shocked.

Abby looked at Ellie and Ellie simply mouthed at Abby “wait”.

“She’s not terrible” said Lev “it’s just… she must not have meant it”

“But maybe she did, Lev” said Yara

“Lev” said Jennifer with difficulty. She was always so shy.

Lev and Yara looked at her. She swallowed.

"She… she said similar things before…" said Jennifer

"What?" asked Lev "what did she say?"

"She…" Jennifer sighed "told me I should look for a less confused  _ partner _ " 

"She didn't say partner, did she?" asked Yara

"Why are you asking her that?" asked Lev to Yara

"Her tone and her face, Angie said something else, didn’t she?" asked Yara "when she said this"

"Yeah… she said boyfriend but I explained to her that word is wrong and that she's misgendering JJ, but it seems she didn't get it" 

"I see" said Lev and sounded disappointed

Jennifer sighed again

"JJ's ex… she misgended them a lot and questioned them and their identity… one day JJ snapped and since then they haven't accepted any of that anymore" explained Jennifer then she stood up a bit straighter and continued saying "and to be honest I think they deserve the basic decency they are asking for"

"I can understand that" said Lev "I would hate to be misgendered too" 

"I'm sorry, Lev" said Yara

“Even if Angie did mean what she said… it does not mean you have to stop seeing her… we are all always learning and she probably doesn’t know many gender fluid people… she probably doesn’t understand these things and how toxic that comment was… but if you have the patience you can talk to her” said Jennifer “otherwise she might never get it”

“So you don’t think she’s trash” said Lev

Jennifer sighed

“Right now, I want to slap her but I think she can learn to be more sensitive and on top of that JJ only said ‘ _ shut your piehole and read, you uncultured swine _ ’ that was not that bad” said Jennifer and shrugged

“To be honest that was quite mild” admitted Yara “I would have said worse had I been JJ”

“I know” said Lev

He looked down and put his hands in his pockets. 

“I should probably go and apologize” said Lev

Yara nodded. 

“I’ll go and do that” said Lev and left for the kitchen. 

Jennifer sighed and sat.

"That was quite brave of you" said Yara

"No, it's just normal talking" said Jennifer

"I can see that confrontations make you nervous" said Yara

"Who doesn't get nervous in those situations?" said Jennifer

"Yeah but… I think it's cool you do this effort for JJ" said Yara

Jennifer sat and looked at her and smiled briefly. Ellie almost gasped, she had never seen Jennifer smiling.

"Yeah" said Jennifer "talking… people… none of this is easy"

"I can see and I'm sure JJ appreciates it" said Yara "you are a good person"

"Thank you" said Jennifer

"There you are, my lovelies" said JJ coming from the kitchen, looking happy again.

Yara looked inquisitively at Lev and he nodded. Yara smiled.

"So, everything's fine?" asked Jennifer

"Yeah, we are cool, older brother and I" said JJ

"Since when am I your older brother?" asked Lev, taken aback

"Uhm, boo, what did you think you were? My cousin?" asked JJ jokingly.

"Does that mean I'm your older sister?" asked Yara enthusiastically

"Of course, darling" said JJ

"Then can I boss you around?" joked Yara

"You can try, darling, but I make no promises of ever obeying you" said JJ laughing

"But we're not related, how am I your brother?" asked Lev

"Oh dear, are you annoyed because you are no longer the youngest?" teased JJ

"I think now it's safe to try and get away from here" whispered Ellie to Abby

"But this is fun now, we would ruin the moment" whispered Abby

"Come'on, let's try going behind the sofa and towards the stairs, maybe they won't see us" whispered Ellie

They were trying this and being quite successful until they reached the stairs.

“Abby has not exchanged last names with them or anything” said Lev

“That does not make this any less oficial” said Yara “they are all together”

“Why don’t we involve them in this conversation? Mom, come and solve this with us" said Lev, calling to Abby

Abby sighed and turned back

"Mom, where do  _ you _ think you are going?" asked JJ

Ellie turned to look at them, puzzled.

"Do you think this has nothing to do with you?" asked JJ “and please, we saw you, you are not the ninjas you think you are”

"Ok, I'm going" said Ellie, defeated

"JJ is under the impression I'm their brother now" said Lev

"Correction, you have been for the past three years" said JJ "I've told all my friends about my new siblings" 

"They have" confirmed Jennifer

"Well, why not?" asked Abby

"I mean we are together, the three of us so I guess that means that you are their brother" said Ellie

"But then… does that mean it's ok if for example I tell Dina I'm moving in with a girl?" asked Lev

"Uhm… I…" Ellie looked at Abby

Abby felt slightly hurt but she did her best to hide this from all of them. She did not want to put pressure on Lev and tried to make him choose.

"Well, I would rather you tell me although you are an adult so you have to choose… if telling her is what you prefer…" said Abby

"Not really, I'm just trying to figure out the family dynamics" said Lev

Abby relaxed just a little bit after hearing that.

"Me too, kiddo" joked Ellie "this can be quite confusing"

Abby shook her head disapprovingly but Lev laughed at Ellie's honesty.

"I'm glad I'm not alone" said Lev

"To be honest I'm confused too, does this mean I have three mothers in law and not two?" asked Jennifer looking at Abby

Abby opened her mouth but blinked and seemed to be thinking about how to answer.

"Of course, honey, that's what it means" explained JJ "and a father in law too"

"That's a lot" commented Yara

"Don't worry, these people are chill" said JJ, reassuringly

Jennifer looked at Ellie and Abby, in particular at their muscled bodies and swallowed 

"Sure they are" said Jennifer nervously

Yara put a hand on her chin pensively

"Uhm, have you ever told JJ how you two meet?" asked Yara at Abby and Ellie

Abby and Ellie looked at each other and then at the kids in alarm

"We told them part of it" said Ellie

"We thought it best to keep that for later" said Abby at the same time

Abby and Ellie looked at each other again. JJ laughed and Jennifer chuckled.

"What's so funny?" asked Ellie nervously

"Oh you are hilarious…" said JJ "and to think that you believe the aunties haven't spilled the beans long ago"

JJ cackled and Yara laughed but Lev seemed confused.

“Why would people waste beans?” asked Lev “and it wasn't a funny story" 

“It’s an expression, in here it means that people already told JJ everything” said Jennifer

"I know it was not a funny story but I'm laughing at their faces right now" said JJ

Lev looked at Abby and Ellie.

"Well you do look funny with that confused look, that much is true" admitted Lev

"Which auntie?" asked Abby

"Well, all," said JJ and then started counting with their fingers "Talia, Nora, Riley, Maria, even grandpa Joel"

"What?" asked Ellie "Joel is so reserved"

"To you maybe, with me he's just neverending talking and talking about the past, when you were a girl, when I was born, all that" said JJ

"The more you know" said Ellie surprised

"So… we're cool? You are not… angry" asked Abby to JJ

"No, it's your stuff, your business if you like punching and kissing and whatever" said JJ

"Wait, wait, wait" said Ellie "what exactly did they tell you?"

"Grandpa mentioned his previous child, then you, then the doctor that was Abby's dad, then him punching the doctor, then Abby punching him then you looking for her, then you not finding her, then you actually finding her and kicking her ass... then Abby's friends mentioned how you dated then how Abby met mom and then we're all here now" said JJ "with a lot more details but that was the gist of it"

"How much more details?" asked Abby

"Like a lot more, enough to fill books I tell you" said JJ

They heard someone coming in. It was Dina.

"What details?" asked Ellie, nervously

"Hello!" said Dina cheerfully

She was coming from work and seemed to be in a good mood since she was singing a familiar tune when she came in.

"Hello" said everyone

"What's going on?" asked Dina

"We're talking about how you all met" said Yara

"It's quite awkward" said Lev

"True but we're doing quite fine now" said Dina

"I just want to know how much did people tell JJ" said Ellie

"Oh they told me all" said JJ and smiled

"Cut the crap, they told you the basics I'm sure" said Dina

"Then how would I know about…  _ Ego _ " said JJ 

Abby was shocked and felt herself grow hot with embarrassment.

"Who told you that?" asked Ellie and Abby at the same time

"What about that song?" asked Lev

"Oh, didn't you know?" said JJ and came near Lev, putting a hand on his shoulder

"That is one of mom Dina's favourite songs but it's also the song mom Ellie sang at a karaoke night and made Abby here fall in love with her" said JJ

Abby felt herself blush even more and just wanted the earth to swallow her.

“Oh god” Abby groaned as she put a hand on her face in embarrassment.

"JJ!" said Dina "that is private information, who told you that?"

"I gathered this Intel from what auntie Riley and auntie Nora" said JJ

"How come I never heard of this?" complained Lev

"Lev, darling, you just never pay attention when the juicy stuff is being told" said JJ

"I'm going to have a talk to those two" said Dina "now stop spreading that around, it's not nice" 

"I'm just teasing you" said JJ "honestly I think it's cute" 

"It's true, since they found out about that, they have insisted I sing for them but honestly singing isn't for me" admitted Jennifer

"No wonder when I was listening to that you were in the moon" said Lev to Abby

"Her head at least was in space with Ellie" said JJ teasingly

Yara, Lev and JJ laughed at that. Jennifer just sighed.

"Hilarious" said Ellie, sarcastically "anyway, since we have no more family dynamics issues to clarify, I think I will go shower" 

"Yeah, me too" said Abby and Dina at the same time

Dina and Abby looked at each other and then chuckled. 

"I guess we all need that" said Ellie

They went to their room and Dina put a box on the bed.

"I'll wait for you to shower then I want you to try this" said Dina

"Wait? Why don't we all shower together?" asked Ellie

"We can do that too" said Dina and started undressing

"What is in this box?" asked Abby

"You'll see" said Dina and winked at Abby.

Abby did see it, two days later. That day she had mentioned to Ellie that they haven't done any playful fights in a while, the kind they used to do before where one of them would hold the other tightly and Ellie recognized that was true. Immediately after that she proposed they should solve that.

So Abby found herself in bed, with Ellie and Dina on top of her.

“Are you afraid?” asked Ellie as she pressed her body on top of Abby’s. She had Abby in a lock and Dina was now the one sitting on Abby’s legs and removing her pants

“I’m not” said Abby dearingly

“You should be” whispered Ellie near Abby’s neck and made her shiver

“Try harder” said Abby panting

Ellie kissed her neck slowly, painfully slowly and made her shiver even more.

“Try even harder” said Abby

“How harder?” asked Ellie

“Bite me” said Abby

Ellie pulled back, confused and alarmed. Dina also immediately stopped touching Abby.

“No, seriously, bite my ear, but not like strongly” clarified Abby to Ellie and then looked at Dina “who told  _ you _ to stop?”

Dina smiled and then proceeded to caress Abby as she was doing before. 

“Ok” said Ellie and did just that

“Oh, please, just like that” said Abby

“Are you afraid yet?” whispered Dina

“No, you need… to… try… harder… both of… you” said Abby with difficulty 

Dina had already removed Abby’s pants and her underwear too. She was now slowly kissing her legs until she came near her pelvis and started caressing her around the area but avoiding her vulva just enough to make Abby shiver even more.

“Oh, Abby, you should be terrified really” said Dina and then she put a finger inside Abby

Dina made Abby gasp, push her head back and arch her back as she fucked her. Ellie continued kissing her neck while her hands went to Abby’s breast and she caressed them, paying close attention to her nipples, making Abby pant and moan even more. Then Ellie’s hand went further down until she reached her clit and started touching her there. They both continued like this making her come and then giving her a brief pause then making her come again, while they kissed her everywhere. 

Ellie was still in her red fishnet so the moment Abby could recover she made sure to remove it from her with DIna’s help, she then focused on going down on Dina and fingering Ellie at the same time, she didn’t know she had strength left after how much they had tired her but she wanted to do this. After that she was really exhausted but satisfied. She just laid down and Dina and Ellie came to lay down next to her.

“You know, that valkyrie costume” said Abby after a while, when they had enjoyed of their afterglow for long “it might not be such a bad idea”

“Yes” said Ellie with a triumphant gesture.

Abby looked at Ellie, puzzled at her reaction then she noticed that Dina was rolling her eyes.

“Another bet?” asked Abby indignant

“Duh, of course” said Ellie

“What was it now?” asked Abby

“Now  _ I _ have to wear Leia’s bikini” said Dina

“Why not all? You in that bikini, me in the valkyrie costume and Ellie on the red fishnet” suggested Abby

“No!” protested Ellie

“Ellie, did you have fun just now?” asked Abby

“Yeah but-” started Ellie

“Then don’t complain” said Abby 

“Fine” said Ellie and pretended she was annoyed “but I am getting the worst part”

“No, you are not” said Abby

“Wanna bet?” asked Ellie

“I’m not playing your stupid games” said Abby

“Our stupid games provided ideas for great sex so don’t you complain” said Dina

“Why don’t you wear that fishnet then?” complained Ellie

“I don’t fit in it” said Abby

“Easily solved, we find one your size” said Dina

“No” said Abby

Dina looked at her maliciously

“You are not convincing me of this” said Abby

“We’ll see” said Dina and playfully moved one finger over Abby’s neck, then down her arm, then to her chest.

Dina looked down at her finger and where she was moving it but then she looked at Abby with such a seductive stare that made Abby swallow. Maybe she would be convinced in the end. But Dina didn’t need to know that this was going to be easier than she expected. 

Then Dina continued caressing Abby with that finger, moving it to Abby's chin, to her cheek and then her lips, all the time keeping that stare fixed on Abby's eyes.

"You know" said Dina suggestively "I think… it would look so good on you"

Ellie was lying next to them, resting her head on a hand and smiling smugly. She then started to caress Abby in a similar way

"Come'on, Abby… it would really look good on you" whispered Ellie

Ellie then caressed Abby's arms

"I can just imagine you in that… the fishnet covering your skin… covering these arms…" said Ellie

"Would you like that, really?" asked Abby, kinda as a joke but realising she was getting excited too

"Yeah… then...Maybe I would want you to use those big, strong arms and hands of yours to do unspeakable things to me” whispered Ellie "and to Dina as well"

_ Fuck, I'm going to end up wearing that shit _ , though Abby

"Fine, I give in" said Abby

Both Ellie and Dina smiled at her then at each other, satisfied with their triumph.

"But the valkiria costume, we will do that in my terms" said Abby

"Sure, what would those terms be?" asked Ellie

"I want to use it in the boat" said Abby

"The one we were planning to rent? Why not, sounds like fun. Weren't valkirias don't stuff on boats anyway?" asked Dina

"I think they rode through air and sea but not sure about the boats, I think they used horses" said Ellie

"They did use horses" clarified Abby "and the boats confusion might come from the popular representation in media of valkirias in the middle of vikings fights and such, which in the end might not be so wrong, considering that valkirias were there to take those fallen in battle" 

"Interesting" said Dina "anyway, does that mean you are coming to take one of us to the afterlife?"

"They do call post orgasms  _ la petite mort _ , we can think about that" said Ellie and winked

"No pressure" joked Dina and she kissed Abby's cheek

"Sure" said Abby and narrowed her eyes at Dina.

While she was looking at Dina, she wondered what other weird thing she or Ellie would make her try. 

"Are you afraid, Abby?" asked Dina as if she were reading her mind "of what's to come, what we may come up with?" 

Abby chuckled. She looked at Ellie and then at Dina.

"Quite the opposite, I'm looking forwards to whatever that might be" confessed Abby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it. That's the end of this story. Stay tuned for the next Abby/Ellie/Dina story as soon as I have time. My only way to survive 2020 has been this OT3. I want to thank everyone who read and hugs to all those who commented and all the singers I mentioned and those I did not for the inspiration, in particular Hayley Kiyoko and in particular the song “Blinding lights” of The Weeknd.   
> Sorry for all the mistakes, English is not my mother tongue but I just don't care, I want to see more stories about these 3 together so since not enough people are writing them I will  
> Hope someone had fun reading it. I sure had fun writing this.


End file.
